


One Good Day

by Farisya



Series: Pacific Rim Drabbles--Inspired by the Discord Server [5]
Category: Pacific Rim (Movies)
Genre: Blood Drinking, Blood Kink, Blood and Torture, Blood and Violence, F/F, F/M, Gen, I invented my own Vamp Lore for this, M/M, Proud Product of the Pacific Rim Discord Server, This got a little dark, Vampires, and they don't go easy, copious amounts of blood, did i mention blood?, people die
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-17
Updated: 2019-08-18
Packaged: 2020-05-13 06:26:33
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 5
Words: 24,570
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19245649
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Farisya/pseuds/Farisya
Summary: Pacific Rim/ Vampires AUKaiju walk the Earth, the vampiric servants of the inhuman Precursors. They kill and turn at will, some choose to fight them. They are the Jaegers, hunters, vampires who choose to stand between the monsters and humanity.Read the tags.





	1. I Don't Believe in Vampires

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you, Misty, my darling, for putting this in my head. 
> 
> Please read the tags if you get squeamish. My vamps don't sparkle and brood, they slice you open and play with your insides. 
> 
> Everyone you know and love from Pacific Rim is in this my loverlies. Not all of them survive. And most of them suffer along the way. I planning for ten chapters of this, so be prepared.

“When I was a kid,” He twisted his glass around until the man turned to look at him. “Whenever I’d feel small or lonely, I’d look up at the stars. I wondered if God was really up there, if the angels looked down on us, like the sisters said. I wondered if we were alone. I was looking in the wrong place. There are no angels, only demons.” 

“I don’t believe in vampires.” 

Raleigh looked hard at the other man. “I didn’t either. Right up until a horde of British soldiers lay siege to my home and a bloodsucking monster killed my sister.” 

Someone laughed across the bar, drawing the attention of both men. Yancy and Tendo were supporting a drunken pair of soldiers, leading them out. Herc was apologizing to the bartender in broken Arabic, pressing a set of bills into his hand. Chuck tore his eyes away to look at Raleigh, really look at him. 

The desert sun gave his skin a slight tan and lightened his already blond hair. Those bright blue eyes were focused on the men around them, wholly absorbed in the lives he swore to protect. Chuck swallowed heavily around the sudden lump in his throat and dropped his eyes to the ring dangling out from his shirt. 

Alice would love Raleigh. The two of them were so similar it frightened him. She too was blonde, blue-eyed, and full of fire. In the few weeks he’d known Raleigh, apparently on loan from Her Majesty’s Army, despite his American accent, Chuck learned enough to wish his fiancée and new friend would never meet. He’d never survive it. 

“You love her.” Raleigh commented idly around a sip of his whisky. 

Chuck darted his eyes up, sucked into the weight of Raleigh’s gaze. “I do.” 

“When are you supposed to marry?” 

More men in the unit stumbled out, pushed by Herc’s barked orders to leave the bar intact and respect their hosts. The noise held Chuck’s attention enough to pretend he had an easy answer for Raleigh. 

“As soon as I go home.” Chuck finally said, admittedly vague. Raleigh’s eyes lit up and he seemed ready to further the topic, something Chuck certainly didn’t want. “Say I believe you, that you and your brother, Tendo, you’re all vampires. What are you doing here? Why fight in this war?” 

“Because it’s the right thing to do.” 

“That’s a gob of shite. No man on this earth does things purely because it’s right and noble. Those are just the things we tell ourselves, mate.” 

Raleigh chuckled softly, his eyes on Herc still booting soldiers from the bar. “Trust me to find the one man in the world who can call bullshit faster than me.” 

Chuck nodded. “So, why are you in this?”

“They slaughtered my sister.” Raleigh drained his glass and poured another immediately. “The Kaiju, that’s what we call them nowadays, they came with the Brits when they invaded Quebec. When Governor de Vaudreuil abandoned the city, the British swept in and the monsters snuck in with them. We stayed with the Ursuline sisters, protecting the school, protecting our own sister. The creatures came in the night, broke through solid oak doors as if they were paper. They dragged a few of the sisters out, some of the students, my sister.” 

He drained his glass again and Chuck took the bottle away before he could finish it off. Dinner was hours past and he had no idea if Raleigh even ate, now that he knew his new friend wasn’t exactly human. “Tell me about her.” 

Raleigh’s eyes jumped up to Chuck, freezing the younger man in place. The lump in his throat returned and he managed to glance down into his own drink. Chuck was fast learning to believe his friend’s story. 

“Her name was Jazmine.” 

Chuck grinned at the fondness in Raleigh’s tone. “Well, that’s all I get? Her name?” 

“You’re an ass.” The melancholy evaporated from Raleigh’s face in the light of Chuck’s challenging smirk. 

“Not the worst thing I’ve been called. So, come on. Tell me about her.” 

“She was a terror. Sixteen years old and already fending off suitors right and left. When the war broke out and Yance and I were conscripted, she denied them all and trained with the Ursulines to be a nurse. Treated British and French alike, never turned a patient away.” 

“She sounds like a fine girl.” 

“Jazmine was _everything_ to me and Yancy.” 

Chuck nodded. “Your parents?” 

“Going straight for my tragic beginnings aren’t you there, Red?” 

“Don’t call me that.” 

Raleigh laughed and stole the last sip of Chuck’s whisky. The Australian huffed indignantly and made to swipe his glass back, beginning a short tussle at the table. Raleigh eventually used his distraction and stole the bottle back and took a swig straight from it. Chuck cleared his throat, pointedly looking away from the long column of Raleigh’s throat and the way his shirt gaped open. The heat was getting to him, he decided. 

“Mom died of TB when I was fifteen. My father disappeared on a trapping expedition a few years before that. Yancy and I were able to make enough money trapping and doing odd jobs to keep Jazmine in school with the Sisters.” 

“Then the siege you said.” 

The blond nodded, “Then the siege. One of the ones we fought, Scissure, he stalked Jazmine, followed her home. Slaughtered half the Sisters and nearly killed us before two Jaegers arrived.” 

“And now you’re a creature like them.”

“No.” Raleigh bit out, glaring at Chuck. _“Not like them._ Never like them. They walk the shadows and stir up the worst of humanity, turn people against each other. I’m a Jaeger, a hunter, we fight them.” 

Chuck watched his father across the bar, listened to the sound of soldiers returning to the barracks outside. He considered the men on the Western Front, thought about what awaited him in Turkey. Raleigh watched him, eyebrows pinched together. “Mate, I don’t think you lot are winning.” 

The wry chuckle Raleigh let out made Chuck’s guts twist. “You have no idea, but we have to do _something.”_

“Too right, mate.” Chuck agreed, lifting his glass. “Too right.” 

\-----

A month later, Chuck caught a glimpse of Raleigh leaving the same bar, an arm slung across another man’s shoulders. He caught a glimpse of the man’s face and frowned. Collins had a reputation for bothering the younger men. No one had come to Herc with any official complaints but all the officers were on watch for any inappropriate behavior from the man. Raleigh, obviously drunk, going down a dark alley with him certainly qualified as worrisome. 

Chuck hung back and watched as Collins looked around, obviously checking to see if he was alone. Raleigh was nearly insensible next to him and Chuck crept closer, concerned for his friend. If what Raleigh spent the last month telling him was true, then Collins must have done something to him. From what he understood, Raleigh’s kind were largely impervious to most things, alcohol included.

Collins leaned into Raleigh and trailed a hand down his side. Whatever he said made the other man rear back, a nervous laugh escaping him, and Chuck lost sight of them both as they disappeared into the shadows. A whimper and the sound of a body hitting the side of a building made Chuck run into the alley. 

What he saw there stopped him cold. At first he thought Raleigh and Collins were kissing, but then his eyes adjusted to the gloom and he realized Raleigh’s mouth was attached to Collins’ neck and blood was trickling out from several puncture wounds. 

“Help me,” Collins rasped out when he caught sight of Chuck. “Please.” 

Raleigh ripped his mouth from the man’s neck and kept him pinned to the wall with one hand. Collins’ feet dangled a full foot off the ground. “Chuck.”

Chuck held up a hand to stop Raleigh from going any further. All the stories, everything from the past weeks, snapped into vicious, concrete reality as blood dripped from Raleigh’s fangs and his golden eyes caught the faint light. Raleigh stayed quiet as Chuck processed, afraid. His eyes slid back to familiar blue and his fangs folded back into a frowning mouth. 

“You said you only drank from those who deserved it.” Chuck turned his attention to the weakly struggling Collins. “What did he do?” 

“He, he,” Raleigh stuttered, surprised at Chuck’s reaction. “This piece of shit cornered Townshend this morning in the latrine.” 

“Is that right?” Chuck snarled. Townshend lied on his forms, he was only sixteen. Chuck’s men were very protective of their own, especially one as young as Dickie Townshend. “Is Dickie okay?”  
Raleigh’s shoulders dropped in relief at the anger in Chuck’s tone. “Yeah, Tendo came in at the right time. Took him all day to convince the kid to report it. Then he found me and, well, I went hunting.” 

Chuck nodded. If he heard it first, Collins would already be dead. He regarded the struggling man coldly for a few more seconds, until Collins realized Chuck truly wouldn’t save him. As the fight bled out of him, Chuck turned his attention back to Raleigh. He never realized, despite Raleigh’s ability to stay in the sun for days at a time, how pale and sallow the other man looked. Now, with fresh blood coursing through his veins and the thrill of the hunt satiated, he was striking. 

“Are you alright?” Raleigh asked, his hand squeezed tightly around Collins’ throat to stop him screaming. “Chuck?”

“Do what needs doing, mate.” Chuck rasped out. 

Raleigh’s fangs dropped again and his eyes bled yellow. Faint ridges and scales marred his features and he held Chuck’s gaze, challenging him to run away, to hide from the truth. Chuck glanced over his shoulder, checking to make sure they were alone and then stepped across to lean against the opposite wall. Raleigh tracked his movements carefully. 

Collins started fighting again in earnest as Raleigh set him down. The big man wasn’t as obnoxious as most of the Pommy officers Chuck dealt with on a daily basis, but his conniving charm made him one of the most hated. The way his eyes wandered towards the younger men cemented his reputation as a sleazy bastard. Raleigh finally tore his eyes away from Chuck to focus on his victim and Chuck watched him tear messily into the man’s throat, a hand pressed over Collins’ mouth. 

Chuck was surprised at his lack of reaction. Raleigh was obviously making this as painful as possible for Collins, draining him messily and raking clawed fingers across his face and neck. But Chuck felt nothing but curiosity at the sight, wondered if Raleigh ever did things gently, if he ever had willing victims. 

Suddenly, Raleigh pulled back and Collins’ body sagged to the ground, lifeless. Chuck watched the other man roll his shoulders and wipe at the blood on his face, licking his hand clean as he went. When he turned around, only a few small streaks remained and Chuck stared at them until he realized how close Raleigh now was. 

Straightening against the wall, Chuck found himself boxed in between Raleigh’s arms. The other man’s eyes were still an unearthly shade of yellow, slowly shifting back to blue, as they bore into Chuck’s own, searching for something. 

“You aren’t afraid,” Raleigh finally whispered. Chuck inhaled sharply as Raleigh pressed even closer. “Even now, now that you believe me, that you’ve seen me kill. You aren’t afraid.” 

“Of course I’m not,” Chuck rolled his eyes and shoved Raleigh away, tossing him a spare handkerchief from his pocket. “Wipe your face, bloody drongo.” 

Raleigh stared at him, incredulously, as Chuck hoisted Collins’ bulk up and dragged him further into the alley. No one would find him til morning at the earliest, and the way he was clawed up, everyone would assume he fell down drunk and dogs got to him. 

When Chuck turned back around and found Raleigh still staring dumbly at him, he stole his handkerchief back and roughly swiped the last of the blood from his face. He chose to ignore the glassy eyed, reverent look on Raleigh’s face and kept ignoring it all the way back to the barracks. 

\-----

The August sun beat down hard against Chuck’s neck as he peered over the edge of the trench. He cursed his ancestors for giving him pale skin and red hair every time he caught sight of a new freckle. The flies buzzed mercilessly through the trenches, feasting on the dead from the last two days’ fighting. Raleigh and Yancy were tucked into a shaded corner, beginning to blister in the sun after pushing their resistance to nearly a week. They were the first over the edges of the trenches every single time, taking as many bullets as they could to protect Chuck and Herc and the other men. 

Yesterday nearly killed them, though, as the Kaiju finally made their presence known on the battlefield. A hulking figure of a man, dressed in a German officer’s uniform, barreled out to meet the brothers in no man’s land. Chuck winged the man with a well-placed bullet, slowing him just enough for the Beckets to save several men from the creature’s snarling jaws, before they lay into each other with a ferocity Chuck could barely believe. 

Seeing Raleigh feed was one thing, watching him fight was another entirely. The Beckets shared a sort of mental link, Raleigh told Chuck one evening, they could speak to each other, sense the other’s presence even thousands of miles away. The seamless way they moved, the efficient brutality of every swinging fist and sweeping leg, left Chuck reeling for several seconds before he remembered he had his own battle to fight. 

At the end of the day, with another line of trenches claimed and the damnable lonesome pine looming ever closer, Raleigh brought a limping Yancy back to the line. Chuck immediately pulled them as far from the other men as he could and practically slit his wrist with his bayonet offering Yancy a faster way to heal. Both men refused him at first until Chuck revealed he stole extra rations and water in preparation. Yancy sighed and thanked him, stealing a few mouthfuls of Chuck’s blood before slumping back against the hard wall of the trench to sleep. 

Raleigh though, hesitated. He pulled Chuck further away from Yancy and ran a soothing thumb over Chuck’s racing pulse and the faint marks Yancy left in the meat of his forearm. His eyes focused on those marks for a long moment as Chuck began to panic. His pulse rocketed up and Raleigh’s eyes leapt up to pin Chuck in place. 

Bright gold eyes instead of the blue he knew so well stared him down and Chuck clenched his fist to keep from tracing the ridges forming across Raleigh’s brow. He blinked and Raleigh’s mouth was suddenly latched onto his arm. Yancy tried, but Chuck still felt it when his fangs slid in for those brief seconds, still felt the pinch and pull of his blood leaving him. Raleigh’s fangs slid in carefully and retracted quickly, he suckled gently at Chuck’s arm, letting the blood flow freely and drinking it down slowly. 

Just as Chuck started to feel lightheaded, realizing Yancy took more than just the few mouthfuls he originally thought, Raleigh pulled back and licked across the wounds to close them. He reached for the length of gauze in Chuck’s lap and wrapped it carefully around the wounds before rolling Chuck’s sleeve down to hide it. 

“Thank you,” Raleigh whispered, hand still wrapped around Chuck’s wrist. 

“I saw the two of you fighting him. Seemed like you’d need a boost to take him down.” 

Raleigh nodded, a strange look in his eyes. “He’s fast.” 

“You and Yancy are faster.” 

“I hope so,” Raleigh breathed out. “Get some rest. I’ll take first watch.” 

Chuck obeyed, happy to close his eyes and try to forget the way Raleigh watched him, how it made him feel. When he woke to the dawn and his father passing him a pilfered tin of biscuits, Yancy and Raleigh were already gone. It wasn’t until hours later, when the shelling stopped, the Beckets reappeared. They still looked strained, but as a thunderstorm rolled ever closer, they seemed to come alive.  
The first crack of thunder in the night sky startled Chuck, startled them all. The second crack they heard was gunfire as someone in the trench died. Yancy and Raleigh leapt into action faster than anyone else, hoisting their bayoneted rifles and pistols in seconds and running towards the sudden sounds of dying men. 

Herc was up a moment later and Chuck hot on his heels. They both rounded the corner to see the same big bloke from the day before, Knifehead, Raleigh called him, pinning someone down and ripping his throat out. 

“God help us,” Herc whispered, frozen by the sight. Chuck ignored him, hoisting his rifle to fire into the creature’s back as it turned to face an advancing Yancy. Where Raleigh’s features merely shifted, the Kaiju’s became completely inhuman. Thick scales covered Knifehead’s face and a prominent ridge appeared down the center of his face. Dripping, fearsome fangs hung from a gaping mouth and horrendous claws swung wildly. 

Yancy used Chuck’s shot, and Herc’s subsequent one, as a distraction, leaping onto Knifehead’s back. Chuck aimed again and tried to shoot the creature’s knees to bring him down, Herc following his thinking as well. They both fired repeatedly as Yancy grappled with the creature. Raleigh suddenly appeared, jumping down from the edge of the trench as Yancy retreated and the two of them pummeled the Kaiju mercilessly. Herc and Chuck kept shooting, doing anything they could to weaken the Kaiju until it went down after a vicious uppercut from Yancy. 

Both Hansens edged forward, pistols aimed, as the Beckets stepped away. Both men were bleeding heavily and breathing hard. Raleigh’s left arm was mangled, twisted unnaturally and Chuck barely resisted running to his side as he heard the shoulder joint pop back into place. 

“What in God’s green earth is that?” Herc growled out. “What are you?” 

Before Yancy and Raleigh could do anything more than glance at one another, Knifehead was up and tackling Chuck. The massive creature bore him down into the mud and raked claws down his front. Fangs tore into his throat a second later. He barely managed to pull his pistol free and shot the kaiju in the neck as he felt himself dying beneath its fangs. 

He could hear his father screaming as the weight was yanked away from him, heard Raleigh and Yancy both shouting his name. Chuck blinked heavily and turned his head to see Knifehead slash his father from shoulder to waist with his claws, saw how deep the cuts went. He blinked again to see Yancy diving between Herc and the Kaiju, a vicious swipe of claws and teeth ripping Yancy’s throat out. He heard Raleigh’s cry of anguish and watched him rip into Knifehead with his bare hands, saw him use the bayonet from Chuck’s rifle to pin the creature to the ground as he punched through its ribcage to rip out its heart. Raleigh collapsed a second later as the Kaiju’s corpse disintegrated and Chuck lost consciousness. 

\-----

Darkness greeted Chuck when he woke. He shifted in his bed and registered the sounds and smells of a hospital ward in the night. Then everything caught up to him and he bolted upright only to find steady hands pressing him back down against the mattress, whispering his name. His eyes adjusted quickly and he found Raleigh, leaning over him, concern written across his face. 

“You with me?” Chuck stared at him, cataloging every feature. Raleigh frowned. “Hey, Chuck, are you with me?” 

“Yes,” He finally rasped out. A cup appeared in front of him a second later and Chuck gulped half of it down before he realized it wasn’t water. He nearly spat out the blood before instinct took over and he swallowed the rest greedily. 

“Whoa, whoa.” Raleigh chided, pulling the cup away before Chuck could lick it clean. “Take it slow there, Red. I promise there’s more.” 

Chuck managed a nod as he controlled the urge to snatch the cup back. He closed his eyes and breathed deeply, a mistake as he caught the scent of stale and fresh blood in the air. Shaking his head, he focused on the steady sound of Raleigh tapping his foot. 

“You turned me,” He said after he opened his eyes again. Raleigh dropped his gaze guiltily and glanced over Chuck’s shoulder. Chuck turned and saw a large black man keeping vigil over the soldier in the bed next to him. He glanced down and saw his father, bandaged practically head to toe, and he leapt from the bed. Raleigh clambered after him, pulling him back before he could wake Herc. 

“Stop, Chuck. Stop.” 

“Let go of me.” 

“No, he’s resting.” 

Chuck shoved Raleigh away and snarled. “I can hear his heart same as you, bloody half-Pommy bastard. He’s dying. Why didn’t you turn him too?” 

“Because he couldn’t,” The tall man said before Raleigh could answer. “Mr. Becket barely managed to save your life, Mr. Hansen.” 

Raleigh sagged into a chair and Chuck studied him again. Dark bruises and a faint, sickly pallor clung to Raleigh and his left arm was wrapped in several layers of bandages. It was then Chuck remembered Yancy going down and he glanced around quickly, looking for the other Becket. 

“Yancy Becket died four days ago, Mr. Hansen.” The cool London accent informed him. “Raleigh Becket managed to finish off Knifehead on his own and then began the process of turning you before he too lost consciousness.” 

“Who are you then?” Chuck groused. 

The tall man’s lips twitched in the faint beginnings of a snarl. “I am Stacker Pentecost. I assume Mr. Becket has told you of our kind, who we are.” 

Chuck nodded. “Yeah, told me months ago.” 

“I see.” Raleigh winced and focused on a nurse moving through the far end of the ward as Pentecost glared down at him. “So you know of the ongoing war between the Kaiju and the Jaegers?” 

“I do.” 

“Good.” Pentecost stood up straighter, looming over Chuck, even though they were nearly of height. “Mr. Becket tells me you gave him consent before he began the process of turning you. I assume your prior knowledge of our kind saved your life, Mr. Hansen. Your father on the other hand knows nothing of us except what he encountered in the trenches at Lone Pine.” 

“What are you saying?” 

“He wants you to convince your father to let one of us turn him,” Raleigh jumped in before Pentecost could take offence to Chuck’s tone. The Australian glanced at Raleigh before turning his full attention onto the man before him. 

Stacker Pentecost radiated power and control. The fury that rode just below the surface of his skin was wrapped tightly in a towering pillar of iron will and Chuck only barely restrained the urge to back down. When he didn’t, Pentecost’s whole demeanor shifted, becoming even more impressive and terrifying until Chuck flinched and looked to his father instead. 

Herc was swathed in white bandages, his chest and arms flushed with fever and his brow glistening in the low light from sweat. Chuck could smell the infection ravaging his body and knew Herc would be dead within days if they did nothing. He couldn’t return home without him, it would kill his mother. 

“It’s up to him,” Stacker spoke quietly now as the nurses drifted closer. “We cannot make the choice for him. It won’t work otherwise.” 

Chuck nodded, realizing he must have agreed before Raleigh bit him in the trench. He glanced at his friend to find the blond totally focused on him. Something tickled the back of his mind, a faint thought. He fixated on it, teased it forward until a single word filtered through, _beautiful._ Panic swelled through him and he tore his eyes away from Raleigh. 

“What do you need me to do?” Chuck whispered. 

“Wake him, speak to him, ask him what he wants.” 

Raleigh stood and put a reassuring hand on Chuck’s shoulder, “It’s his choice.”

“Yeah, alright,” Chuck sank to the edge of his father’s bed and waved the other men away. “You two go on walkabout and leave us be.” 

Stacker nodded and strode off into the ward, Raleigh hesitated for a moment and then turned to follow. Chuck could feel the despair rolling off him even as he left the ward. Losing Yancy broke something in him. Chuck hoped he’d find a way to heal. 

Pushing the thought aside, he reached over to gently wake Herc. His father opened bloodshot eyes and took a long moment to focus on Chuck’s face. Chuck clenched his jaw at how weak his father was. His whole life Herc was larger than life, the soldier who could do anything, a good man. They didn’t always understand each other, but Chuck knew his father would do anything for him. 

“Chuck,” Herc murmured. “Where am I?”

“Hospital. You aren’t doing so well, old man.” 

“Don’t call me that.” 

He tried to sit up, but Chuck pressed him back down to the mattress, nostrils flaring as one of Herc’s stitches popped and he started bleeding again. “Hold on there, mate. You aren’t going anywhere.”

“I’m dying.” 

“Yeah,” Chuck swallowed around the word. “Yeah, you are.” 

“But you aren’t. I saw you bleeding to death, Chuck.” 

“Raleigh saved me.” 

Herc nodded. “He turned you into whatever he is. One of those _things.”_

“He did.” 

“You knew what he was before that creature attacked us.” 

“I did.” 

“You didn’t tell me.” 

Chuck looked away from the judgment in his father’s eyes. “Not my secret to tell.” 

“That,” Herc chuckled. “And you were drawn in by a pair of pretty blues.” 

“What?” Chuck sputtered. 

“Anyone with eyes could see the way he looks at you, son.” 

“But, it’s—”

“If you say it’s a perversion I’ll kindly ask you to leave. God is the final authority, son, not the laws and ideas of man.” 

Chuck slumped forward, dropping his head into his hands. “I don’t want to talk about this. You’re dying.” 

Herc studied his son for a long moment, noting the subtle changes to his body. His hair, already light a brighter red because of the Turkish summer, practically shone in the low light. He looked, _healthier,_ nothing like the rangy young man of the last few weeks. 

“Tell me what they are.” 

The look in Chuck’s eyes nearly broke Herc’s heart.

\-----

Dawn broke before Chuck finished speaking with Herc. Nurses came and went, changing Herc’s dressings and chastising Chuck for being out of bed with the knock to the head he took. They left them alone though, especially as Chuck forced Herc to stay in bed himself and accept the nurse’s treatment with minimal grumbling. 

The whole time Chuck told Herc everything he knew of Raleigh’s kind, of the Jaegers. He spoke to him about the Kaiju and how they flitted through history, stirring up chaos on the whims of their masters. He told him of the powers he now had, the weaknesses. Everything Raleigh told him spilled from his lips as he desperately tried to convince his father to live.

Breakfast arrived and Herc managed to sip the broth provided to him. Raleigh and Pentecost returned. Chuck felt a bone deep hunger pressing at him and the smell of fresh blood on the ward was testing even his iron will. With a nod from his father, he allowed Raleigh to lead him away, promises of fresh blood on his lips. Herc watched his son go and then turned appraising eyes on the man left behind. 

“So, you’re the bloke Raleigh reports to?” 

“I am. My name is Stacker Pentecost.” 

Herc nodded and ran a long look down the length of the man’s body. Stacker raised an eyebrow in surprise. Most men weren’t so open in their desire, especially human men who knew what he was. Though he could admit most human men who knew what he was died painful deaths shortly after their discovery. 

“How long have you been fighting these things?” 

Stacker folded himself into the chair next to Herc’s bed and rubbed a hand over his jaw. “My sister and I were attacked and turned in Ghana five hundred years ago. We hunted the Kaiju that slaughtered our village across two continents. A Jaeger named Dustin Krieger found us and helped us track him down. We never looked back.” 

“Why do you keep fighting?” 

“Because I’ve seen the worst of what these monsters can do, I know the depths of my own depravity because of them. Every person I save, every one of my kind that turns against their nature to protect this world from them, those are the reasons I still fight.” 

Herc nodded, he understood the sentiment. This war wasn’t the noble cause of nations, he knew that. What he saw in the trenches, the devastation a single one of these creatures rained down upon his men. If they were half as organized as Pentecost claimed, then he knew he couldn’t simply return to Sydney, to his life. 

“How would this work?” He finally asked. “What would you need to do?” 

Stacker tilted his head and stared down at the other man. In all his long years he’d met many a fighter ready to turn against the Kaiju, ready to die for this world. Few of those men and women commanded immediate respect the way Hercules Hansen did.

“I’d drain you nearly to unconsciousness, as close to death as I can take you. Then I’d bite you again and fill your system full of venom. It will change you, make you one of us. You’ll require blood as soon as the venom works through your system or everyone in this ward will die at your hands.” 

“Why didn’t Chuck kill everyone?”

“Raleigh shared his own blood with him first. Then he took blood from those soldiers who were too far gone to save and forced Chuck to drink it while the venom did its work. He was badly wounded, so it took longer than it would otherwise.” 

“I’m not doing so well, how long would it take for me?” 

“It’s different for all of us.” 

“Would I be able to go home? Will Chuck?”

Stacker considered the question. He never had a family to go home to after he was turned. It was only he and his sister, then Tamsin, for years. “Many of us live amongst humans with few problems. I would caution against telling many people of your new status. The Kaiju feed on whispers and rumors of us, the wrong person saying the wrong thing would guarantee the death of your wife, of your family.” 

“I understand. My Angie is a tough woman. She could handle it. Chuck chose well in Alice too.” 

“So you’ll do it.” 

“I don’t fancy dying, no.” Herc locked eyes with Stacker. He held the man’s gaze as his eyes bled to a golden amber, not the bright yellow he remembered in Raleigh and Yancy, and Stacker’s fangs didn’t drop. “What are you waiting for?” 

“Tonight. Easier to hide what we are in the darkness.” 

“Might want to put away those eyes then, mate. Dead giveaway.” Stacker laughed quietly at Herc’s tone and settled in to wait for sunset. Raleigh would keep Chuck busy until the deed was done. The transition was painful and Chuck only missed out on the worst of his transformation because of the severity of his injuries and the blood Raleigh shared with him. The two were irrevocably tied to each other now. 

As the hours slipped by, Herc dozed on and off. Stacker could smell the infection seeping through his wounds now and he winced every time Herc shifted in his sleep. When he was awake, he told Herc the history of the Jaegers, of the Kaiju and Precursors. He spoke of the great men and women of history who were human or otherwise that he’d known, and their many quirks and foibles. 

The sun finally set and the nurses came by to check on Herc, giving Stacker sympathetic looks as they changed his bandages. Many of these women had already spent months on the Western Front, they knew the look of death on a man’s face. Stacker acknowledged their compassion with silent nods and grateful smiles. 

Once the last nurse finished her rounds, he leaned forward and took Herc’s wrist. The man’s eyes blinked open slowly as he let the change slide over him. Herc gasped at the amber eyes which glowed a deep gold in the faint light and barely flinched as fangs sank into his wrist. 

To anyone passing, it appeared Stacker simply prayed over Herc’s failing body. The blood sliding down Stacker’s throat was thick with infection, but he kept drinking. As Herc’s eyes slid closed, he pulled back and bit again, this time letting his venom flow freely into Herc’s system. He ran his tongue across the wounds to close them and laid a hand across Herc’s brow. 

Herc’s memories flashed across his mind, making Stacker twitch at the foreign emotions. He saw Herc running through the bush with his brother, the harsh words and hands of Donovan Hansen. He felt the fear and excitement flooding through Herc’s veins as he kissed one of the drovers behind the shed on his father’s land. The pain as the young man rode away at the end of the season, leaving Herc behind to care for his brother and his ailing father. 

The sheer joy of marrying Angela made Stacker gasp. The pride in his son as Chuck grew and excelled in ways Herc never could made a single tear stream down Stacker’s cheek. Twenty-five years of love for Angela as she teased him for admiring the same men she did, as they raised their son, as they lived spilled through Stacker’s mind. 

All the while, Herc writhed on the bed. The venom worked quickly, healing Herc’s considerable wounds, but he was in pain. Stacker blinked away the other man’s memories and decided to use Raleigh as an example. The Kaiju created more of their kind by sharing their blood as the Precursors did. Chuck’s nearly seamless transition spoke to the efficacy of the practice. Raleigh allowed the young man to drain him nearly dry in the trenches before they were found. His own injuries would scar because of the blood he gave away. 

Herc started moaning quietly, pain wracking his body, and Stacker made a decision. He let his claws sharpen dangerously and slid one across his wrist. His blood welled up quickly and he used his other hand to force Herc’s mouth open and place his wrist above the man’s mouth. A second later, Herc’s lips wrapped around the wound, sucking more blood down. 

Stacker let him suck greedily until he felt the first twinges of lightheadedness and pulled away. Herc sagged against the thin mattress and twitched as blood and venom both worked through his system. One of the night nurses filtered in after midnight and Stacker kept her away from Herc’s bed with a gentle push to care for those patients she could save. He was surprised at the hug she gave him in sympathy before she returned to the far end of the ward. 

Eventually, Herc’s breathing evened out to the impossibly slow pace of their kind and he settled into a deep sleep. The nurse returned and checked his pulse, sharing a long look with Stacker as she wrote down his time of death on his chart. Once she left the ward, Stacker pulled Herc into his arms and carried him out. Raleigh and Chuck waited in a car behind the building and he settled Herc into the backseat as dawn crept over the horizon. 

Boarding a ship, a week later, Herc and Chuck marveled at the way the world looked now. Raleigh put them both through rigorous fight training at sea. Stacker took them hunting for the worst of humanity in every port. Sydney Harbour made both of them pause in fear as they considered the danger they carried, but the sight of their family waiting on the docks sealed their fate. Whatever happened, they wouldn’t leave these people behind.


	2. Even if She Be Not Harmed, Her Heart May Fail Her in So Much and So Many Horrors

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We started with Chuck. 
> 
> But now we go to Our Lady and Savior, Miss Mako Mori. Her story is sad. But she will have her revenge, _for her family._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please be aware I do not speak Japanese and I outsourced the bits that are in here. I try not to put bad translations in if I can help it. So if you catch me doing something funky with a language I don't know, please let me know!
> 
> Again, Misty, you're a doll.

They left the island shortly after her fifth birthday. Sumako Mori was dead six months when her husband packed his daughter up and left his family’s business as knife makers behind. Mako, in all the long years since, never forgot the smell of the ocean on that day. She still remembered her father’s grief, how he could barely stand to sleep in the bed he used to share with his wife. 

She remembered her fear when Masao explained where they were going, to Gifu, where he would become a swordsmith. She remembered his fear as he looked down on her small face and the faith she held in him. Mako missed her mother desperately but she was gone and her father promised to teach her his craft, how to hone metal to an edge fine enough to slice through everything. 

Her time in Gifu was happy, as she so dearly hoped the day she left Tanegashima. Despite her gender, the other sword makers never turned her away. For years she learned alongside the other apprentices, learned from the samurai who came to commission swords from her father and the other masters. Her father’s memories flooded through her until the last image she saw was her own bloody face looking down. 

“What are you doing, _Hagane no Taitan?”_

Onibaba’s voice filtered through the veil of Mako’s memories. Despite the Kaiju’s best efforts, she never achieved the same link between herself and her favorite assassin as with her other creations. Mako submitted to death and resurrection, but never to ownership. 

Mako stared down at the bodies on the floor. These pitiful humans were merely children compared to the long years of her life, but she felt their deaths as keenly as her father’s over a century before. Every life which fell beneath the edge of her sword and fangs was catalogued in her mind, saved for the day she could turn their vengeance onto the creatures holding her leash. 

“Nothing, Onibaba-sama,” Mako finally answered. “Checking for a pulse.” 

“You are my most efficient soldier, Mori-san.” 

The Kaiju was pleased, if her tone was any indication. Mako shoved her memories aside, lest a stray thought escape through to her mistress. The rest of Onibaba’s enforcers moved in and quickly disposed of the bodies. With the _Americans_ entering the city, things were changing for the Kaiju. Onibaba spent the last two hundred and fifty years in control of Japan, helped by the isolationist shoguns, and she did not accept change well. Especially as Admiral Perry brought _Jaegers_ with him. 

Mako heard whispers of the traitors to their kind from the various Kaiju who traveled to meet the infamous Onibaba, _onna-Oyabun_ of Kanegawa. The Jaegers were vampires like them, but they did not submit to the Kaiju, fought against them. Mako hoarded information about them, kept it close to her heart, hopeful. In the one hundred and fifty years since her death and resurrection, she heard the names of a dozen Jaegers, all of them whispered in fear by the weaker Kaiju. 

The ground rumbled beneath their feet, as it had for months, and Mako lost herself to memory again. Unlike before, when she saw her younger self through her father’s eyes, this time she knew it was Onibaba’s memories, forced on her by the blood fed to her as a fledgling. 

The young woman stood silent behind her father as he allowed a samurai to test a sample blade. Training dummies toppled to the floor in pieces as the man swung the sword precisely. Onibaba knew the masters of Gifu made fine blades, but she did not know why this girl stood by her father’s side. 

She was dressed as a boy, and armed with a sword of her own. Onibaba caught a twitch of annoyance on her face as her samurai complained about the sword’s weight, but she quickly suppressed it. Signaling her seneschal, she stepped from the crowd to stand at her servant’s right hand. He stood as the _Oyabun,_ a vassal to the shogun, but it was she who held the power. Every man and woman in the room, human and Kaiju alike, answered to her and her alone. 

The girl’s face twitched again, this time in surprise, as Onibaba took her place. The deference paid to her was obvious, despite her nominal attempt at following the societal norms of these humans. Onibaba curled a hand over her seneschal’s shoulder and smiled openly at the swordsmith and his daughter. 

“Forgive me, Mori-sama, but the masters of Gifu are renowned for their blade’s ability to withstand combat. Perhaps a demonstration is in order?” 

“Of,” Masao Mori stuttered in surprise at Onibaba’s request. He glanced over his shoulder to Mako, who nodded her agreement. “Of course, my son would gladly demonstrate.” 

Mako’s memories from both her father and Onibaba began bleeding together, overriding her own memory of the day.

_“Your son,”_ Onibaba sneered. “Is young, perhaps you would be better suited?”

Masao snapped to his full height and leveled an icy glare on the woman. He knew the rumors of the _onna-Oyabun,_ of her brutality. He may be a humble swordsmith, but no one insulted his daughter or her skills in his presence, whether they knew her gender or not. It seemed from the curious look on Onibaba’s face, she suspected the deception, which only made him angrier. A woman with her power should not doubt the skills of another woman. 

_“My son_ is happy to show the quality of our craftsmanship.” Masao turned away from Onibaba to converse with his daughter quietly, not knowing the Kaiju could hear every word perfectly. “Whoever she places before you will not hesitate to hurt you. Do not give an inch, my daughter. Show this woman the strength of our blades and our souls.” 

“I will, father.” Mako whispered. Her eyes remained on Onibaba, who watched her with the same cold eyes as a shark. Masao patted her shoulder and turned back to face Onibaba. Mako took a few steps forward and drew her sword. 

Onibaba smiled, her hands curving into claws. The two women studied each other as the samurai from before took his place between them. Onibaba wanted this girl. Most humans felt an inexplicable twinge of fear in the presence of a Kaiju, knew instinctively that they were prey. Those who set the fear aside were usually one of two types. Most found out the truth of the Kaiju’s existence and craved a taste of their power. Others, like Masao and his daughter, accepted their fear and used it to turn against the Kaiju. Onibaba never turned the first type, they were useless to her as immortals. The second type often made the best servants to her masters. The Precursors valued strength and cunning, so Onibaba only made new Kaiju if they could stand the weight of her masters’ will. 

“Mako-san,” Onibaba slapped the girl, hard. “It is time to go.” 

Memories swam before Mako’s eyes, ash and blood clouded everything. The ground shook again and people screamed outside. Mako pulled herself together and followed her mistress down to the street where their guards waited. 

The last few months, earthquakes shook the city regularly. The humans’ fear swept through her with each tremor, all of them fearing the next collapsed building, the next tsunami threat. The guards, all of them slaves like her, assassins made to do Onibaba’s bidding, encircled them both as they left the scene of their latest massacre. Mako kept her distance from her mistress, despite their efforts, carrying her sword. 

Foreigners, drawn out by the novelty of trembling ground, gaped at her. These men never saw women clothed as her, nor did they see a woman armed. She held her contempt behind a marble façade. It would not do to let Onibaba know of her disdain. She’d be set hunting the ranks of these men next, weeding out the Jaegers’ agents. 

A frisson of rage rolled through her as they turned a corner and she halted. Onibaba stopped as well. In one hundred and fifty years of servitude, Mako’s instincts never failed either woman. The guards stopped a half-second later, but it was already too late. 

Three figures emerged from the shadows as seven of their twelve guards crumpled to the ground, silver blades buried in their bodies. Mako drew her silver-edged sword, the very one that ensured her own death, and raised it to face these foreigners. Their leader, a tall man, studied her intently. 

“You must be the infamous Miss Mori, the _Hagane no Taitan.“_

The calm power of his voice sent a jolt of memory through her. Masao, not this stranger, now stood before her. His kind eyes, tempered with the steel of his spine, carried them both through the pain of her mother’s death. Her father never treated her as anything other than the most precious piece of his heart, even to his death. Something of this man reminded her of him. 

Not even the weight of Onibaba’s voice, of her mistress’ heavy hand, could pull her from the past now. The ground shook again, harder this time. All around them, Kanegawa erupted in screams of terror and Mako was lost. 

Ash fell heavily as Masao led them from the city. The mad _onna-Oyabun_ demanded the impossible of him. The sword she commissioned, steel folded with silver, an impossible blade, was wrapped in heavy cloth and tucked under his arm. Mako carried her own weapon, blade drawn and ready to defend them from terrified people fleeing Fuji’s wrath. 

The tsunami was a sign. An omen they should have heeded. Onibaba saw the worth of both father and daughter. Masao was a master swordsmith like no other, he could create any weapon asked of him. Mako could wield any weapon her father forged. The Kaiju Mistress of Kanegawa used their talents against them, and now they ran from her. 

Screams echoed all around Mako as she pushed her father to run faster. His injury slowed him, bit by bit, until they reached the edge of the city. Mako listened to the fear and despair as the people around her choked on hot ash and died. Her father did the same in the abandoned house where they now hid. 

She darted outside with clean cloth and found the well. The ash was not so thick inside and she managed to find clean water. A freshly damp cloth covered her face and she hauled her bucket inside. Masao slumped against the far wall, heavy blankets hung in the windows to keep out the silently falling death. 

“Father, you must drink.” Mako prodded him with a cup. He obliged her and managed a few sips before he coughed up heavy sludge, tinged black by the ash. 

“You must leave me, daughter.” He pressed the sword into her hands as she tended the deep wound in his side. 

Mako shoved the sword away, hating it already for the pain it caused. “No.” 

“Please,” He begged. “Please.” 

“You are all I have left in the world. I will not leave you to die because of those,” She paused. Onibaba proved the rumors of her power true when her skin shifted to reveal a hint of the true monster inside her. Even now, a full day later, Mako still could not comprehend the creature she saw. “They are Kaiju father. You taught me never to fear creatures like them, human or not.” 

“Fear is necessary, daughter. It keeps us alive. Makes us save those people we hold dear.” 

This time she took the sword from him. He gave her a small smile, coughing up blood mixed with ash this time. Mako nearly reached for a rag to wipe his face clean when she felt it, the same terror from Onibaba’s palace. 

Before her father could shout a warning, she was already on her feet and knocking their attacker to the ground. Another followed a second later, then another, until Onibaba herself entered the room. Mako refused to let her fear control her, they were not trapped. So long as they breathed, they would never fall under Onibaba’s dominion. 

“You led us on a fine chase, Mori-san.” The monster smiled, fangs on full display. “I applaud you. Most do not make it this long.” 

“I curse you,” Masao snarled. He palmed a small knife from his belt and stood slowly to berate the creature before him. “I curse you, Onibaba. You think you have won today, but you have not. It may take years, but we will have our revenge on you.” 

The Kaiju took a brazen step forward, in reach of Mako’s blade. “Strangely enough, Mori-san, you are not the first victim of mine to lay a curse. Yet, here I am, untouched.” 

Mako felt the strength bleed out of her father as he pushed her aside and buried his knife into Onibaba’s throat. The Kaiju barely flinched, a hand darting out to grab Masao by his own throat. She ripped the knife free and Mako nearly whimpered as the wound healed almost instantly. 

“You idiot,” Onibaba chided. “This is my favorite kimono and now it’s covered in blood.” 

She tossed him behind her, the guards instantly seized him and held him still as he gasped for air. Ash filtered in through every crevice, the roof creaked ominously under the weight. Mako settled into defend herself as Onibaba stalked forward. 

“Mako-san, you are a magnificent warrior. Join me and together, we will one day rule all of Japan as the most trusted of my masters’ generals.” 

“No.” 

Onibaba sighed and rolled her eyes. “Oh, well, it was worth a try.” 

In seconds, Mako smelled the sizzle of burning flesh as the silver blade sliced through Onibaba’s arm. It wasn’t enough to stop the creature though and Mako felt her feet lift off the ground as the other woman pinned her to the wall. Masao screamed and fought his captors as fangs tore into Mako’s throat. 

“Survive, daughter!” He shouted as Mako’s blood poured down Onibaba’s throat. “Survive!” 

Mako held onto that thought as she felt the ground meet her. She grasped it as tightly as she held the sword in her hands. When the acrid taste of Onibaba’s blue blood passed her lips, she heard her father still shouting, telling her to survive this. 

The effect of Onibaba’s venom, of her blood, surprised Mako. She felt herself die, heard her father’s anguish, felt it. Then, moments later, her eyes opened again and she looked up into the pale blue eyes of Onibaba. The other woman smiled serenely and Mako knew she was no longer human. 

A rhythmic thump drew her attention away from the smell of the volcano and her own spilled blood. Following it, she found her father staring at her, terrified. She inched closer to him and he sobbed, reaching for her. Onibaba’s guards let him go easily. Mako caught him and held onto him even as she realized the smell of his open wounds was stronger than anything she’d ever felt before. 

“Father,” She whispered

“No, no, you survived. You did as I asked, my daughter.” He pulled her back to rest his forehead against her own. “Now you must do the hardest thing of all. You must keep living. Fight, survive, do what you must until you can take our revenge.” 

Mako sobbed, felt her fangs descend and her skin pull around hard blue scales. “Father, I don’t want to do this.” 

“You must. If I live, then they will use us against each other for eternity. Loneliness is a thing you can survive, daughter. Do not fear it.” Onibaba growled, impatient behind Mako and Masao pulled his daughter close. “You are _Hagane no Taitan._ It is you they will come to fear, for monsters such as these cannot exist without others to fight them, to make them pay for the injustices. Hold strong, hold true. One day, you will find these people and on that day, you will show the Kaiju what it means to fear.” 

He angled her head up until her fangs rested against his throat. “Now, my daughter, take the last of my strength. Use it to save yourself.” 

The ground shook beneath her feet and Mako trembled along with it. The red-headed woman she faced tilted her head. “Stacks, your Steel Titan doesn’t look so good. You sure we’ve got the right girl?” 

“Yeah, we’ve got the right one.” The other man, blond and blue eyed answered. Yet another man, obviously his brother, appeared at the corner of Mako’s eye. “Rals, back off.” 

Onibaba growled lowly. “This is all I merit? Three thousand years in service to my masters and a paltry four Jaegers come to kill me and take my best assassin?” 

The redheaded woman snarled and snapped her fangs right back, stepping past the tall man. “How do you think we found you, got this close to you? Huh? Your best assassin led us right to you.” 

Before her mistress could turn on her, Mako pulled her sword and neatly decapitated two of the remaining guards. She placed another between herself and the raging Kaiju as the Jaegers descended. The two blond men fought recklessly, but in perfect sync. The elder of the two a steady foil to the wild punches thrown by his younger brother. Mako slid between them, fending off attacks and giving the men openings to tear out throats with teeth and claws. 

Around them, the city’s terror rose as another earthquake toppled buildings. The shaking kept on, but the fight did not stop. Mako chanced a look at the other Jaegers as they took on her mistress and nearly balked in terror. Her momentary misstep, left one of the brothers vulnerable and he fell. She leapt into action slicing the head off his attacker. 

Satisfied the other brother could handle the last two on his own, Mako turned on her mistress. As the Jaegers distracted Onibaba, she darted forward to slice through the back of the garish purple kimono. It wasn’t enough to stop the ancient Kaiju, though, and she found herself lifted off the ground by a clawed hand a second later. 

“You dare turn on me!” The Kaiju spat in her face. “Me! I gave you immortality, power and strength you’ve never known. Did you once show me gratitude! No, you bring these pathetic creatures down upon me!” 

The redhead woman appeared out of nowhere and tackled Onibaba to the ground. Mako tumbled away, still desperately holding her sword. The Jaeger and Kaiju grappled desperately. On the ground, Mako drew desperate breaths, her throat ripped to shreds by the Kaiju’s claws. The tall man’s hands appeared and he hauled her to her feet. 

“You will not die today, Miss Mori.” His dark skin shone in the fires now raging around them as the earthquake toppled the city. Behind him, the redheaded woman let out a cry of pain and he turned to face Onibaba. 

Mako shoved her sword into his hand before he left her. “For my father.” 

The man nodded and spun the blade once, obviously familiar with the proper form, and dove in to save his partner from the Kaiju. The two blond men, both dripping in blood, shuffled towards her. The wounds in her throat closed slowly. Onibaba’s claws were tipped in poison, a quirk of her creation. She called it a gift from the Precursors. Mako had long built up a resistance to the poison as Onibaba spent years attempting to “correct” her. The redheaded woman on the ground though, was slashed to ribbons and Mako could see the blue tinged poison seeping from the wounds. 

Onibaba and the tall man fought brutally around the woman’s prone form. Mako frowned and turned towards the other two Jaegers. They were both badly injured, but they were healing quickly. “We need fresh blood.” 

The younger man tilted his head. Mako knew he was processing his new ability to speak and understand Japanese. She waited for the knowledge of her dead compatriots to settle in both of the men, watching the tall man fight Onibaba. He too had slashes tinged with blue. 

“How much?” 

She glanced at the men, keeping one eye on the fight. “As many as you can bring. She has poisoned claws.”

They looked to find the tall man bearing down on Onibaba with the sword and then disappeared into the shadows. Mako inched forward, looking to pull the woman away from the fight. The tall man saw her and drew Onibaba into the main street. 

The woman groaned as Mako hauled her into an alley and set her behind a large rubbish bin. The ground still shook around them as tremors rocked the city. Mako’s eyes glazed over with her father’s memories until the woman grabbed her arm. 

“Stacker,” She rasped, her Japanese rusty with disuse and pain rather than novelty. Whoever this Jaeger was, she had to be old and well-traveled. “Help him.” 

Mako shook her head. “You are dying.” 

She huffed grimly. “Should have done that a long time ago. Go help him.” 

Hesitating, Mako looked around. She listened carefully and heard the gasping breaths of someone dying underneath a collapsed building near the end of the alley. Seconds later, she was hauling the person from the rubble and dumping them in the woman’s lap. 

“Eat. It will help fight the poison.” 

The woman nodded and sank her fangs into the body. Mako confirmed she drank and then ran towards the sound of Onibaba screaming. She didn’t have to go far. The tall man was pinned between an advancing Onibaba and a fallen building beginning to catch fire. The Kaiju sensed her and whirled around to leap at Mako. 

They grappled as Onibaba bore down, teeth and claws catching at Mako’s skin. The tall man, Stacker, used the Kaiju’s distraction and tore into her. He wrenched her off Mako and swung hard, managing to catch Onibaba’s hand. 

Mako rolled into a pool of water, feeling it slosh from the strength of the ground trembling. Onibaba’s hand smacked into the ground next to her and she let the Kaiju’s roar of pain wash over her. It was a sound she wished for many times over the last century. Opening her eyes, she turned her head to see Stacker driving her father’s sword into Onibaba’s chest. 

She fought him, struggled against the burning silver blade, and his hands slid forward. They sliced over the blade as he kept forcing it through her body. She writhed around it, all traces of humanity falling away to reveal the scaled monster beneath. Stacker gripped the blade and pushed upwards. The silver alloy blade slid through Onibaba’s bones like butter, splitting her in two. 

As the monster who killed her died, Mako did not feel the satisfaction she hoped for. Onibaba was one of many Kaiju, her father’s final command would only be satisfied by their complete destruction. The Precursors would suffer her wrath. Masao Mori’s final wish would be fulfilled. 

The Jaeger dropped the sword and fell to the ground. His many wounds were tinged blue with the poison running through Onibaba’s veins. Mako pulled herself up and looked around for another fresh corpse for him to feed on, a live victim would be best to slow the poison, but recently dead would work just as well. 

The brothers reappeared as she shoved a dead man into Stacker’s lap. Both of them dragged multiple humans with them. All of them were alive. Mako pointed down the alley as the elder brother looked for the woman. Stacker looked at the other one angrily. 

“We don’t kill the innocent, Mr. Becket.” 

The younger man rolled his eyes. “We caught them using the earthquake as an excuse to rape.” 

Stacker clenched his jaw and heaved himself off the ground. One of the men started to wake and he screamed as the Jaeger’s fangs lowered. He begged the blond man to save him, but he simply laughed in the dying man’s face as Stacker drained him. 

“Not a chance. You were going after a kid. Burn in hell.” 

Mako watched dispassionately as the man’s eyes slid shut, tears streaming down his face. Her lips twitched as Stacker made the bite more painful by the second, digging his fangs into the man’s neck. She could taste his fear, see the way he looked at the child as the Jaegers snuck into the house behind him and the other American soldiers. 

She felt his excitement as it turned to fear and shook her head to dislodge the men’s memories. It wasn’t often her gift manifested this way. The elder brother escorted the woman out of the alley and she set upon the unconscious soldiers with abandon. The bloodlust finally consumed Stacker and he too fell onto the men. Their wounds closed up rapidly, though the poison still ran blue just under the skin. 

The younger brother turned his attention fully on Mako as the other Jaegers fed. She stared back at him until he broke and turned to his brother. “I imagined her differently.” 

Her English was rusty from disuse, but she smiled meanly at him. “Better or worse?” 

The older one smirked and turned away from them. “My apologies, Miss Mori. I’ve heard a lot about you.” 

The smile he gave her in apology was blinding. She returned it slowly, some of the weight on her shoulders finally lifting as she let Onibaba’s death register.


	3. Love Isn't Brains, Children, <i>It's Blood</i>

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chuck and Herc return home. 
> 
> The war follows them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one gets a little sad. 
> 
> Just ask yourself, would she really go there? Would she _really_ write that? 
> 
> The answer is a big ol' YES. 
> 
> But you lot already know I'm a monster by this point. 
> 
> Warnings for period typical attitudes on display from people who were already nasty to begin with.

Angela Hansen watched her husband carefully across the parlor. Somehow, against all odds, he and her son survived the disaster at Gallipoli and returned to her. They said it was a miracle themselves and she believed it. 

In the week since they came home, Chuck barely left his room, only letting the strange young American man enter for the first few days. Angela turned her eyes to the man in question, Raleigh Becket. He sat in the farthest corner of the parlor, with the other man who returned with her boys, Stacker Pentecost. They were strange, otherworldly in their movements. Their eyes gleamed unnatural shades when the light caught them just right. 

Raleigh felt her staring and whipped out his charming smile for her. She happily returned it. Whoever they were, _whatever_ they were, her family survived a massacre because of these men. The stories her grandmother told her as a child of the fae and other creatures resurfaced every time the two men focused their attention on her, but she never felt threatened by them. 

“Such strange men,” a voice whispered at her side. Angela turned to find Mrs. Treadway standing next to her. Of course it was her luck to have the woman in her home. “Especially the dark one.” 

“Watch your words here, Mrs. Treadway. Such nonsense is not tolerated in my home. God made us all, no matter how we look on the outside. Furthermore, Mr. Pentecost saved my husband’s life, I’ll hear nothing against him.” 

The old witch opened her mouth to retort, but was stopped by the appearance of her niece. Alice Treadway was a gorgeous girl. Blonde and blue-eyed, she smiled easily but never backed down from what she believed in. Angela grinned at the girl her son chose to marry. 

“Alice, my dear. I missed you coming in.” Mrs. Treadway addressed her niece. “This position of yours takes entirely too much of your time. How are you meant to run a household properly if you’re never home?” 

“Aunt Esther, my position at the store is none of your business. And I do believe it is up to Charles and myself to decide how much time I should spend at home, not yours.” Alice turned her back on her frowning aunt and pulled a chuckling Angela towards the back of the room. “Speaking of, Angela, have you seen my fiancé? I can’t find him anywhere.” 

Before Angela could answer her, Raleigh appeared at her elbow. “Chuck is upstairs. He still doesn’t feel well, but I’m sure he’d love to see you.” 

His smile stopped Alice cold, something about Raleigh Becket set her on edge. She didn’t feel threatened by him, but his presence made the hairs on her neck stand up straight. But he was kind and obviously formed a deep friendship with Chuck, enough to save his life, so she pushed the feeling away every time. 

“He’s only spoken to me through his door since you all arrived.” She frowned. “I’m worried about him.” 

Raleigh’s bright smile dimmed and he took her hand. “Well, we’ll just have to bully him into seeing you won’t we? I won’t see a pretty lady sad because Chuck is being ridiculous.” 

Alice smiled brightly and followed Raleigh up the back stairs towards Chuck’s room. Angela watched them go, happy to see Raleigh forcing her son to overcome his irrational behaviour. She surveyed the parlor, smiling at her guests. Things were very nearly back to normal. Though she suspected the presence of Raleigh Becket and Stacker Pentecost would change things forever. 

The sudden melancholy thought drove her to step out into the back garden for some air. She looked up at the stars and let the premonition wash over her. As her heart settled, she wrapped her arms tightly around herself, trying to understand the feeling. 

“Are you alright, Mrs. Hansen?” Stacker Pentecost’s voice asked softly from the back door. “You left in quite a hurry.” 

Angela glanced over her shoulder at him. “I had a sudden bad feeling, Mr. Pentecost. They plague me at times. My grandmother said I had a touch of the Sight.” 

“Ah,” He graced her with a grim smile and stepped forward to stand at her shoulder. “My sister was the same. She could see many things, but the bad always left her on edge. Is there any way I can help?” 

“Perhaps.” She studied him a moment and then turned back to her stargazing. “You can start by telling me the truth.” 

“Pardon?” He gazed down at her. “I don’t think I understand.” 

“My husband and son came back from Turkey whole and healthy, Mr. Pentecost. I know I have you and Mr. Becket to thank for it. But I know them better than anyone. They came back,” She paused for a moment. _“Different.”_

Stacker stared at her, the lights from inside catching his eyes and turning them an unnatural amber color. She gasped when he shifted to block the light and his eyes didn’t return to their normal brown. He smiled ruefully and sighed. 

“They are different,” He worked his jaw for a moment. “What do you know of vampires, Mrs. Hansen?” 

Angela sucked in a deep breath and glanced over his shoulder to see her husband at the door, obviously upset. Her eyes darted upwards a second later to see Raleigh smiling sadly down at her from her son’s window. 

\-----

Herc stood at the end of the alley as Chuck and Raleigh disappeared into the shadows. In the four months they’d been home, Chuck refused to hunt except when Raleigh physically pulled him from the house. Stacker assured him his son would be fine so long as he kept drinking from Raleigh, but he could see how the change affected Chuck. 

His heightened senses, coupled with the infamous Hansen temper, made it difficult for him to remain in public for any extended amount of time. They’d reported to base earlier that day, officially receiving their discharges from service, and the sheer number of people sent Chuck into a spiral. It took the combined efforts of Alice and Raleigh, with quite a bit of help from Alice’s dog, Max, several hours to calm him down. 

Alice still didn’t know the truth. Chuck didn’t want her to know until he had more control of himself, but she knew her fiancé needed her and she never failed to support him. Even Raleigh’s continued presence didn’t faze her. The girl accepted him without question and Herc grinned every time he caught the two conspiring against Chuck. His son certainly had a particular taste in friends and lovers. 

The sound of a man crying out drew his attention back to his surroundings and he glanced over his shoulder to see Raleigh appearing out of the darkness. He swiped a hand along his jaw, cleaning blood away and nodded at Herc. 

“He did good. He’s learning.” Herc sighed in relief. “I know he’s scared to hurt Alice. The more he hunts, the more control he’ll have. Maybe you should have a talk with him? Or Angela?” 

Herc clenched his jaw, nodding. “We’ve never communicated very well. His mother always understood him better, but I’ll give it a go.” 

Raleigh clapped Herc on the shoulder and they waited for Chuck to appear. Once the younger Hansen slid out of the shadows, Raleigh returned down the alley to hide the body. Chuck stood next to his father, blood smeared along his collar. 

“The two of you aren’t subtle you know.” 

“I do.” Herc gruffed. “Why do you think he said something at all? He knew you could hear us.” 

“Bloody seppo thinks he knows everything.” 

“Is he wrong?” 

Chuck swallowed heavily and dropped his eyes to stare at the ground. “No.” 

“Then you know what you have to do.” 

“I,” Chuck paused and his eyes darted across the street to watch a man following a woman too closely. “I know. But, this makes us murderers. And I, I like it. I shouldn’t like feeling someone die in my arms.” 

Herc wrapped an arm around his son’s shoulders. “It’s part of what we are now, son. We’re predators. Unlike the monsters that started all this, we don’t prey on the innocent. We hunt those who do.” 

The woman across the street yelped as the man caught up to her. Chuck and Herc both snapped their full attention to the situation, ready to intervene. The woman squealed in delight when she turned to see who grabbed her and brought the man into a kiss. Both men relaxed only to take off running a moment later as a scream erupted from several blocks away. 

They turned a corner to find a man pinning a young woman to the side of a building, lifting her skirts as she struggled. Chuck roared. The man faltered and backed away only to find himself tackled by the younger Hansen. Herc quickly pulled the woman to safety and checked her for any wounds. She ripped herself away from him and ran. He watched her for a few moments until he was sure she was safely away, then turned back to his son. 

The man writhed on the ground as Chuck ripped into his throat. Herc smelled the blood and pushed Chuck away to pull the man up. He pressed him against the wall and bit into the unmarred side of his throat. Chuck appeared a second later, returning to the gaping wounds on the man’s neck. 

“Christ.” 

Herc ripped his face away to see the last person he expected watching them. “Scott.” 

“Herc, what,” Scott Hansen gaped at his brother. “What are you doing?” 

Chuck broke away and looked at his uncle. All three men stood deadly still, Herc and Chuck’s prey bled sluggishly as Chuck held him steady. Scott darted his eyes around and then back to his brother and nephew’s faces, smeared with blood. 

“I knew you came back wrong when I saw you at the docks.” He whispered. The man in Chuck’s arms moaned and Scott blanched as his nephew quickly snapped the miserable creature’s neck. “What did you become in that godforsaken country?” 

“Scott,” Herc started. 

“Don’t use that tone on me, Herc.” Scott snapped. “I want the truth.” 

Chuck started to retort, but Raleigh suddenly appeared behind his uncle. He laughed to see his normally unflappable uncle startle at the presence of the other man. Raleigh certainly had that effect on people. 

“Who is this?” The American asked lowly, his eyes flashing brightly. 

“My brother.” Herc answered. “He hasn’t been by the house since you’ve been there.” 

Scott sneered. “No, I haven’t. Your wife seems to think I’ll make off with the family silver.” 

Raleigh regarded Scott with open distaste until he caught sight of the body in Chuck’s arms. Immediately he rushed over and pulled both Chuck and the dead man away, leaving Herc to deal with his brother. The Hansen brothers stared each other down for several long minutes as the second body of the night disappeared into the darkness of Sydney’s streets. 

“What are you?” 

Herc stared his elder brother down. They were never close, growing up under their father’s roof didn’t encourage much brotherly affection. Donovan Hansen was second generation Australian and a hard man. Herc felt his father’s fists more than his love and never quite forgave his brother for making things worse. 

“Why do you care, Scott?” 

“You’re my brother. I’ve a right to know what happened to you. No matter what your wife thinks of me, I do care about you.” 

“Leave Angela out of this.” 

“Does she know? How can you live with her when this is how you spend your evenings? And to bring your son into this.” 

“Don’t, Scott,” Herc warned. Angela was always a sore subject with them. She originally let Scott court her only to throw him over for Herc. “It’s best if you leave.” 

“And what? Leave you to murder half of Sydney? I don’t think so.”

Chuck reappeared, inches from his uncle’s face, and snarled. His face still had a smattering of blood on it and his fangs were fully descended. Scott cowered before his nephew’s glowing eyes only to find himself, yet again, pressed into a person behind him. Stacker glared at Chuck until the younger man backed down and stepped back to stand with his father. 

“Raleigh,” He called calmly. The American appeared at Chuck’s side instantly. “We have a problem. I need you to go to the docks. Mako is there waiting for you. Take Chuck with you.” 

Squeezing Chuck’s shoulder, forcing him to move, they both disappeared into the night. Scott’s eyes widened as the much taller Stacker loomed over him. “Scott Hansen.” 

“Yes.” He ground out, refusing to cower before the imposing man. “And you are?”

“None of your concern. Your brother and his family are none of your concern. I suggest you leave.” 

Scott frowned, turning from surprise to open disgust as his brother took up position at Stacker’s back. They were raised better than to defer to a man like that. He snarled and stood up a bit straighter. “Who are you to dictate my family affairs?”

Stacker leaned forward, his eyes bleeding gold, and tilted his head. “I am the man who saved your brother from the very edge of death. I made him stronger than you could believe. I carry the power of life and death in my veins. Who are _you_ to question _me?”_

For the first time in a long time, Scott Hansen felt afraid. He glanced at his brother and was disgusted to see him openly admiring the creature still leaning in threateningly. The hunger in his brother’s eyes had little to do with the display of bloodlust he interrupted. Scott felt his stomach turn at the thought. He edged his way back towards the street and let out a relieved sigh when the mysterious man disappeared. Herc stared at him a long moment, waiting for his brother to try for the last word. 

“What are you, Herc? Truly. What have you become? You were never like this before. You would never defer to, to a man like that. Not one of _them.”_

Herc tilted his head and edged closer to his brother. “You’re wrong, Scott. I never judged a man by how he looked. And that man, he is the strongest man I’ve ever known. He saved my life. He didn’t have to.”

“He turned you into a monster.” 

“Yes. He did. And now I hunt them.”

“The man I saw die. He was like you?”

“No. He was simply a bad man, more interested in taking what he wanted than human decency.”

“And you killed him for it.” Herc nodded, waiting for his brother to work things out. “Why do you deserve this power?”

“Because Stacker needs soldiers, Scott. There is a war, older than any other, rampaging its way across this earth. Stacker turned me because he thought I was a good man, a man who could fight for the innocent.” 

“And Chuck?”

Herc grinned. “Chuck caught the attention of the right person. Someone who couldn’t let him die when fate drew his thread.”

“I’ll tell everyone what you are.”

“No one will believe you. Why would they? Vampires are a myth.” 

“Angela would believe me.” 

“She knows, Scott.” Herc sighed. “You think I could keep this from her?” 

“So you’ve turned her as well. Then you must turn me, let me share this with you.” 

“No.” 

Scott snarled. “Why? What makes me any less worthy?”

“You,” Herc pushed his brother against the bloody wall. “You think I forgot what you did to me? How you turned against me at every opportunity? Do you think I forgot what you tried to do to my wife? What you nearly did to my son? The only reason you’re still alive is because Angela begged me not to kill you. Do you know what she said, Scott? She said you weren’t worth the dirt under our boots and she would not have my hands dirtied by your black soul any longer. Forget what you saw tonight. Let it be, or I swear I will hunt you down.” 

Before Scott could react, Herc disappeared. He slumped against the wall and breathed heavily. Never in his life had Herc scared him. Fear quickly gave way to anger as he considered Herc’s words. He stood straight and adjusted his clothes, flinching at the blood spattered on his cuffs. 

“Sir, are you alright?” 

Scott turned to the voice and found a man looking at him. He started to respond, to snap at the man who caught him in a vulnerable moment, but stopped when light caught the man’s eyes and they glowed a bright blue. 

\------

Chuck stared at his fianceé. Alice took one look at Mako Mori and, much like Raleigh had at the docks, drew her into a fierce hug. In the three days since the Japanese woman arrived, Alice barely let Mako out of her sight. Mako appeared thoroughly amused by her behavior and humored her. Raleigh said it was because Mako spent too much time with men and was glad to have a new female friend. Chuck was still slightly horrified.

Mako terrified him. He wasn’t afraid to admit it. The massive sword wasn’t even the scariest bit about her. It was her eyes. Unlike Stacker or Raleigh, Mako’s eyes didn’t turn any shade of yellow. Hers bled into pits of black, flecked with the same blue he remembered seeing in the trenches. Whatever Mako was, he knew she was closer to Kaiju than Jaeger most days. 

“Chuck,” Alice snapped her fingers in his face. “You alright there, love?” 

He smiled at her, catching her hand. “Of course, lost in my thoughts is all.” 

She hummed. “Sorry, it happens so rarely I thought something was wrong.”

Raleigh snorted into his drink behind her and Chuck glared at them both. “Why did I propose to you again?” 

“Because I’m the only woman in Sydney who puts up with your attitude.” 

Chuck rolled his eyes. Raleigh was turning red trying not to laugh. He’d pay for it later. “Alice, my darling bride-to-be, may I remind you of one small thing?”

“What’s that, darling?” 

“How did we meet again?” 

Alice’s smug grin dropped and she glared at him. “We agreed never to speak of it.” 

Mako and Raleigh exchanged looks, intrigued. The couple continued bickering as they followed them in and out of shops. Raleigh smiled as he saw Chuck finally relaxing around Alice. It took him weeks to feel comfortable in the same room with her for more than a few minutes. As the petite, blonde woman physically dragged him into the store to order a new wedding suit, Raleigh tried not to let their happiness get to him. 

The scars on his arm pulsed with phantom pain and he clenched his fist. Mako caught the movement and wrapped her small hand into his. Forty years as friends meant she felt Yancy’s loss too. He was glad she came to Sydney. 

With Yancy gone, fighting Scissure lost some of its meaning. Raleigh was the only one left who knew the pain the ancient Kaiju caused their family. The memory of his death washed over him and he was surprised to see Chuck turn towards him. Not for the first time, Raleigh wondered if the drift he shared with Yancy transferred to his Childe.

Seeing Chuck’s reaction, Mako focused on Raleigh. She caught the memory of Yancy’s death, of the fear, and closed her eyes against it. She missed the elder Becket dearly. He stood in her defense against the Jaegers when she first joined them, became a true friend and more. She frowned as the memory shifted to Chuck’s view of the Kaiju attacking the Beckets, then himself. Chuck started to leave the store at Raleigh’s continued distress and Mako dug her nails into Raleigh’s arm. 

The brief stab of pain broke the building connection between them and both men blinked heavily. Chuck turned back to the tailor, lifting his arms for the measuring tape. Raleigh shook his head and glanced down at Mako, a worried frown on his face. 

“The drift,” She whispered. He nodded. “I thought so. I saw his memories through you.”

“What have I done, Mako?”

“Nothing intentional.”

“Strangely that doesn’t make me feel any better.” 

She wrapped her hand tightly around his arm and gave him a squeeze. “I know, my friend.” 

\-----

Alice and Raleigh spun around in graceful circles, drawing admiring looks from every other person in the room. Chuck watched them with a wide smile on his face. Seeing them together, it made his fears melt a little more each day. 

“They make a handsome couple.” 

Chuck startled at the sound of his uncle’s voice. After the night in the alley a month earlier, the elder Hansen brother disappeared. Herc attempted to find him, not trusting him to stay out of trouble with the information he now had. He and Stacker both searched all over Sydney the longer he remained missing. The Kaiju, Scissure, they hunted took joy in destroying families, as Raleigh could attest. 

“What are you doing here?” Chuck growled, hauling Scott out of the room and onto the balcony. 

Scott smiled and Chuck suddenly realized he was different. He was now _one of them._ Silently, he pressed against the corner of his mind where he could always feel Raleigh. He saw the swirl of Alice’s skirts through the window behind his uncle and knew the other man was now watching, ready to intervene. 

“I came to see my nephew finally celebrate his engagement. Alice is a wonderful girl.” 

“Herc told you to stay away.” 

“Yes, but my dear brother doesn’t always know what’s best does he?” 

Chuck grit his teeth. Trust his uncle to bring up the tense relationship between father and son. “No, but everyone is allowed their mistakes.” 

“Is that right?” Scott taunted. “Then why is it none of mine have been forgiven?” 

“Because you keep making them.” Chuck hissed. 

“Like you are now? You and your father are predators now. And yet you returned home, putting the people you love in great danger. Has Alice discovered your nightly activities yet? Does she know you slaughter the dregs of humanity to satisfy your bloodlust?” 

“Don’t,” Chuck warned. “I won’t listen to this.” 

“Of course you won’t, god forbid you listen to your uncle. I may not be an entirely good person, but I am family. I only want what’s best for you.” 

Chuck scoffed. “I am not a fool, Scott. I have not forgotten the last time I trusted you, listened to you.” 

“Did I not apologize?” 

“Apologies mean nothing to a terrified young boy. I nearly died.” He held back a snarl and pushed his uncle towards the stairs. “You need to leave.” 

Scott held up his hands in surrender and stepped away. “Perhaps it is best.” 

The music shifted to a different song and Chuck felt Raleigh’s steady presence at his back. Scott smiled thinly at the other man’s appearance, but kept walking towards the stairs. “You should tell her, Chuck. She loves you.” 

He melted into the night and Chuck sagged. Raleigh placed an arm around his shoulders, holding him up. “Someone turned him.” 

“Yes.” Chuck whispered. “He’s _one of them_ now isn’t he?” 

“He is.” Raleigh tightened his hold on Chuck’s shoulders. “Scissure found him.”

“How do you know?”

Raleigh turned his head to catch Chuck’s eye and then spun them slowly towards the doors. “Because Scissure turned me. I could smell him on Scott. I’m sorry about your uncle.” 

“I’m not. He was never truly family.” 

“Still,” Raleigh started. Chuck shook his head to stop him. Sometimes the bloody seppo was too kind. “Well, we’ll need to keep a closer eye on Alice.” 

“Do you think I should tell her?” 

Chuck’s voice nearly broke. Raleigh pulled him in for a proper hug, ignoring the other man’s struggle. He kept his eyes on the beautiful girl just inside. He liked her. Chuck loved her, dearly. She was strong. If it came to it, Raleigh knew she’d survive the change. 

“It isn’t my decision,” He whispered into Chuck’s ear. The other man shivered and turned his face into Raleigh’s neck. The movement startled Raleigh. They did so well ignoring the effects of their attraction most days. But here in the moonlight, entwined together, he could almost forget Chuck wasn’t completely his. Alice’s laughter broke the spell and they pulled apart. Chuck’s entire focus turned towards the woman in question. Raleigh felt his heart stutter at the open admiration on Chuck’s face. “I think she could handle it. She loves you.” 

“I’m terrified of hurting her. I love her so much.” Chuck, still watching his fiancée, missed Raleigh’s brief frown of pain. 

“It’s your decision.” 

\-----

She laughed. The story was completely absurd. Who would believe such a thing? Yet, neither Raleigh nor Chuck was laughing with her. Alice glanced to Mako, who smiled softly at her. Angela reached out to pat her hand. Herc and Stacker stood stoically at the fireplace, neither one with any humor on their face. Alice sobered immediately. 

“You are not joking.” 

“No.” Chuck whispered. 

Alice worked her jaw, studying each person in the room. Finally, she let the strange feelings of the past months coalesce into a single realization. She breathed in a shaky breath and stood abruptly, wobbling slightly. Chuck and Raleigh both leapt to assist her and she waved them off. Once steady, she grabbed Chuck’s hand and dragged him roughly out of the house. 

“Don’t you dare follow us, Raleigh Becket.” She called over her shoulder. The other man was entirely too invested in this. She appreciated his care, his _love,_ for Chuck. But, she didn’t need him helping Chuck, not now. 

The American dropped back and she was glad to see him shut the door behind them. She knew she could trust him to keep watch. Knew he’d likely follow them once he was sure Chuck wouldn’t notice. He would take care of her as much as Chuck. 

Once they reached the beach, she stopped and hiked her skirts to pull off her shoes. Chuck rolled his eyes at her behavior and bent to pull his own shoes off. Since they were young, this was the place they came to talk and settle any differences. He pulled his jacket off too, knowing he’d likely end up dunked in the bay if Alice’s face was any indication. 

Skirts tied up above her ankles, Alice marched towards the water and let the tide lap at her feet. Chuck joined her a moment later, arms crossed in preparation for Alice’s inevitable tirade. The sunset before them was beautiful. 

“I knew something was different when you came home. You barely touched me.” Chuck glanced over at her and was surprised to see her smiling. “Fifteen years I’ve known you, Charles Hansen, and not once have you ever pushed me away. I knew something changed. I thought it was Raleigh. I was partially right.” 

“He,” Chuck started. 

“Don’t, Chuck. I’ve seen how the two of you look at each other. Whatever else happened to you in Turkey, I will not blame him for his feelings. Nor will I begrudge yours. This, though, this you should have told me. I would have never turned you away. Not for any of it.” 

Chuck turned to face her, “Alice.” 

“No. I love you, Chuck. You’ve been my best friend since my fifth birthday. Nothing in this world would make me hate you. Nothing.” She pulled him close, forcing him to wrap his arms around her, and kissed him. “I need you to know that. To feel it.” 

He sagged against her and clutched her tightly against him. “I do know it. But—”

“But you were terrified. You thought you would hurt me.”

“Yes,” He nodded. The faint scruff on his chin dragged against her cheek. “You don’t know how hard it is to feel everything and not lose myself.” 

She held him as the tide rose against their legs. Movement in the trees caught her eye and she glanced over to see Raleigh leaning against a tree, Max chewing a stick at his feet. He nodded at her and smiled. She returned it easily. 

“How have you all been feeding?” She pulled away to ask. 

Chuck pulled away from her and shuffled deeper into the water. “I mostly drink from Raleigh. But, we, we go hunting at night. Oh, I’ve killed so many people, Alice. I’m a monster.” 

“I don’t believe that.” She joined him in the rapidly deepening water. “Tell me of the people you’ve killed.” 

“They,” He let out a broken sob. “They were the worst of humanity.” 

Alice sighed. “Then you did a good thing, love.”

“Then why do I feel this way!” He shouted at her. “Why do I feel like I’ve become just like them.” 

“Because you’re a good man, Chuck Hansen.”

“I can’t go on like this.” 

“Then you won’t.” He stared at her. “You’ll feed from me now on.” 

\------

Scott watched Alice work the cash register, noting her easy smile. She was a truly wonderful girl. He almost regretted what his new master planned for her. Almost. 

The shop’s owner stepped up behind Alice and shooed her away, a small smile on his face as she insisted on helping tidy up before she left. The high neck of her dress pulled low and Scott smiled to see the faint red marks on her neck. A truly wonderful girl indeed. 

He followed her towards the Hansen home, always just out of sight. A few times her damnable dog nearly caught sight of him, but he managed to stay hidden. He slipped into the back garden as she entered, finding his new favorite perch. The low branches of the tree allowed him a perfectly hidden place to see into his nephew’s room. 

Chuck stood from his desk as Alice entered the room, a scowl already on his face. Scott smiled as he listened to them argue. As he suspected, Chuck feared hurting the girl when he fed. They shouted for several more minutes until his nephew, ever the hot head, said something particularly nasty. Alice stormed out and Scott grinned as the Hansen’s front door slammed forcefully. Her bulldog let out a sad woof as she led him towards her own home across the street. 

His nephew fled his room as well, emerging into the back garden to pace and mutter to himself. Raleigh Becket appeared a few moments later, leaning against one of the porch posts. Chuck ignored him in favor of punching a hole through one of his mother’s garden chairs. Raleigh sprang to action, pulling Chuck away from the innocent furniture.

“You have to stop this Chuck.” 

“Why? Why do I have to stop? What will change?” 

The other man backed off as Chuck struggled in his grip. “You need to feed.” 

“I hurt her, Raleigh. I can’t do that again. I won’t risk it.” 

“Then you come hunting again.” 

Chuck snarled and poked a finger into Raleigh’s chest. “I am not like you! I cannot stomach their deaths. No matter what evil they’ve done, I can’t kill like that.” 

“Then I will hunt for both of us. You can feed from me.” Raleigh pleaded. 

“I cannot do that either, knowing you’ve slaughtered twice as many to keep me fed.” 

Raleigh studied him a long moment. “Then what will you do, Chuck?” 

He turned away from the desperate look on Raleigh’s face and Scott’s smile widened to see Chuck mirroring it. 

“I don’t know.” Chuck whimpered. “I don’t know.” 

\-----

Scissure made him wait three weeks. 

Three agonizing weeks of leading the Jaegers on a merry chase through Sydney, a trail of innocent victims in their wake. 

In that time, Scott watched his nephew become more unbalanced. Watched as he refused to let either Raleigh or Alice within ten feet of him. 

The first week the two backed off, gave Chuck his space. The second they pushed his boundaries, forcing him to interact. Scott laughed as they drove Chuck into a fit that left Raleigh bruised and bloodied and Alice crying. 

Once his master was assured of his nephew’s desperation, Scott took action. He waited for Alice to leave work and followed her to his brother’s doorstep. Just as she opened the door to let herself in, he struck. He allowed her to scream once before he tossed her over his shoulder and ran towards the nearby park. 

Max howled behind him, alerting everyone in the twilight hours that something was wrong. As he made it to the beach, he smiled to hear Raleigh and Chuck’s voices shouting Alice’s name. The girl struggled against him and he let her pull herself long enough to scream for help. Raleigh and Chuck cleared the tree line to find Scott holding a knife to Alice’s throat as she sobbed silently. Chuck held Max back as he tried to run and help his owner.

“Ah, good. I hoped it would be just the four of us.” Scott taunted. 

Chuck snarled and took a step forward. “Let her go.” 

“No.” He pressed the blade tight against Alice’s throat as both men edged towards him again. “You two must not care very much for dear Alice. One more step and she dies.” 

Raleigh pulled a growling Chuck away. Both men slipped their human guises, scales forming across their skin and fangs bared in the fading sunlight. Max barked angrily but didn’t take another step. Scott smiled at their obedience. 

“Good. Now that we’ve all decided to pay attention.” 

“What do you want.” Chuck snapped, interrupting his uncle. 

Scott rolled his eyes at his nephew’s impatience. “I don’t want anything from you, nephew.” 

“Then why take Alice?” 

“Because,” Raleigh took a step to flank Scott, drawing his attention away from Chuck. “Scissure wants us here instead of somewhere else. He wants us distracted. This is what he does. Threatens someone you love. He _enjoys_ making people suffer in the worst way. My guess is he’s watching us right now.” 

“You are certainly smarter than you appear, Mr. Becket.” Scott smiled. His master was already gone, satisfied with his performance. Chuck took a few halting steps closer as Scott remained distracted by Raleigh. “I did wonder why my master was so focused on you.” 

“It’s because he turned me as well.” 

“Is that right? Well, we’re practically brothers.” Scott laughed. His knife slid across Alice’s skin, making the girl whimper and he turned his attention back to her only to find Chuck much closer than he intended. “Now, now, Chuck. No closer.” 

Chuck froze and looked to Raleigh helplessly. The American shook his head, urging him not to do anything rash. Scott smiled as even the dog stayed deathly still. 

“I’m afraid,” He said as the sun slid below the horizon. “That I must _cut_ this little meeting short, gentlemen.” 

Pausing to ensure he had both Raleigh and Chuck’s total focus, he grinned and dug the knife into Alice’s throat. Seconds later he was gone, and Chuck caught her before she crumpled into the sand, her hands useless against the blood spurting from her neck. 

Raleigh shouted at Chuck to stay back but it was too late. As Alice’s momentum pushed both her and Chuck into the ground, blood hit his face and he reacted instantaneously. He shoved her hands away and sank his fangs into the wound, drinking deeply. His half-starved body demanded he sate his bloodlust and he had no thought for anything else. 

In seconds, Alice lay limply in Chuck’s arms. Raleigh tried wrenching him away from the dying girl, but Chuck held fast. He pulled again, this time with his full strength, and threw Chuck across the beach. He managed to fumble Alice into his arms and laid a hand on her chest, desperate for a heartbeat. 

Chuck howled and launched himself back towards them, only to stop as Max turned on him. The dog barked at him once and Chuck sank to his knees. He watched as Raleigh frantically tried to wake Alice to no avail. 

“Save her!” He shouted. “Save her, Raleigh.” 

Raleigh pulled the girl higher and bit into her savaged neck, pumping her full of venom. He knew it was hopeless, she was already dead. But he had to try. For Chuck, for himself, he had to try. He slid his eyes closed as Chuck sobbed. 

“Raleigh,” Mako’s voice filtered through his grief. “She’s gone. You have to let her go.” 

He opened his eyes to see Herc and Stacker attempting to calm Chuck. Tears clouded his vision and he turned his head to find Mako crying silently. She reached for Alice’s body and he cradled the dead girl tightly. 

“No. I can save her.” 

Mako reached again and found herself pushed aside by Chuck. Raleigh let him pull Alice from his arms and slumped into the sand. Chuck cried into her hair, desperately whispering her name, begging her to wake up. 

“Son,” Herc started, choking on a sob. “She’s dead. You have to let her go.” 

Chuck ignored him. Max pushed his way through and nudged Alice’s hand with his nose, whimpering when she didn’t respond. Raleigh reached out to touch Chuck only to have his hand slapped away.   
“This is all your fault. You should have saved her. Why didn’t you save her?”

“I’m sorry, Chuck. I tried.” 

“You didn’t try hard enough!” 

“Chuck!” Stacker shouted. That is enough. “Raleigh, was Scott alone?”

Startled by the question, Raleigh took a moment to answer. “No, he said his master was with him.” 

Stacker clenched his jaw. “Herc, where is Angela?” 

Herc and Chuck both snapped to attention at the name. Chuck passed Alice’s body to Mako and then tore off into the night. Herc followed right on his heels.

\-----

Herc caught up to his son as they rounded the corner to their street. Both men used every ounce of their enhanced speed to return to their home. Seeing the front door swung wide open, they barreled into the house calling Angela’s name. 

“You check upstairs,” Herc commanded. Chuck complied instantly as Herc headed for the kitchen. 

As he tore open the pantry door, movement outside caught his attention. He entered the back garden in enough time to see Angela plunge a kitchen knife into Scott’s eye. Herc roared at the sight and pulled Angela to safety. 

“Chuck,” His wife screamed. Herc turned to see a terrifying creature digging razor sharp claws into Chuck’s throat. Blood seeped from the wounds as Chuck struggled desperately against the creature’s hold. Forgetting about his brother, Herc took a step towards his son. 

“I don’t think so, Hercules.” The creature rasped. “One step to save your son will ensure your wife’s death.” 

Herc froze. Angela whimpered behind him and he didn’t have to look to know Scott now held her hostage. “You’re Scissure, I take it.” 

The Kaiju smiled brightly. Herc grimaced at the sight. Its whole face was covered in thick scar tissue. “One and the same. I see you’ve noticed my handiwork. Each mark on my skin represents a life I’ve taken.” 

“What do you want.” Herc growled. “You’re outnumbered.” 

Scissure’s smile widened. It’s bright blue eyes glowed in the darkness. “My dear, Hercules. Numbers mean nothing when you are as old myself. Nothing. As for what I want, well, I thought to have you join me. Unfortunately, you are much to devoted to dear Stacker and his pointless cause.” 

Scott dragged Angela around Herc. His left eye was a mass of bloody mangled tissue. The knife Angela used to inflict the damage was now held against her side. She jerked against Scott’s hold and spat in Scissure’s face. 

“Let my son go.” 

“Such fire. Perhaps you’d like to have a taste of the power flowing in my veins, my dear.” 

“Not on your life.” 

“Pity,” Scissure pouted. He cocked his head to the side and dug his claws into Chuck’s body tightly. “Stacker, Raleigh, it has been such a long time.” 

“Scissure,” Stacker responded coolly. He barely held Raleigh back from leaping at the Kaiju. “Let the woman go.” 

“Not the boy as well? Such loyalty you have, Stacker.” 

“Chuck can handle himself. His mother is useless to you. Let her go and we will settle this.” 

The Kaiju considered his words, eyes still firmly fixed on a seething Herc. “I have a better idea. Hercules will choose. His son, or his wife. Only one of them will walk away from this.” 

Chuck’s eyes widened and Stacker forced Raleigh to the ground to keep him from attacking the Kaiju. Herc darted his eyes between his wife and son. Scott grinned meanly and pulled his hand away from Angela’s mouth. Herc started to move towards her.

“Don’t you fucking dare, Hercules.” Angela shouted. 

“Mum.” Chuck whimpered. Scissure tightened his grip on the young man, making sure he would have no way to move. 

Angela held her husband’s attention. “Herc, you know what to do.” 

“Ange,” He pleaded. “Please.” 

She smiled at him. “I love you both so much.” 

With a burst of strength, she grabbed the knife from Scott’s hand and drove it through the underside of his chin. The dying man raked his claws across her face as he collapsed, making Angela scream. Chuck used the distraction to escape Scissure’s clutches. 

As he took a stumbling step towards his mother, though, Scissure pulled the woman into his arms and dragged her away from the advancing Jaegers. Raleigh held Chuck up as he bled slowly from the deep punctures in his throat and side. Angela squirmed in Scissure’s grip. 

“This is most unfortunate. I wanted to enjoy this more.” Scissure whined. The scars on his face pulled as his fangs slid into place. His eyes lit up an even brighter blue and his whole, hulking body shifted until he lost all semblance of humanity. 

“Let my wife go,” Herc demanded. 

“I think not.” Scissure slurred out. Acid slid off his dripping fangs and onto Angela’s skin, making her cry out. “I tire of this game.” 

Before anyone could react he shifted his grip and snapped Angela’s neck. Herc’s anguished cry broke Stacker’s heart and he made no effort to stop Herc leaping at Scissure. Raleigh and Chuck followed him and Stacker ducked in between slashing claws and fangs to retrieve Angela’s body. He pulled her away and laid her on the porch. 

He turned to join the fight and found himself in awe. Scissure was one of the oldest Kaiju living and yet, the three Jaegers, two only months into their powers, had him pinned to the ground. He struggled against Chuck and Raleigh’s hold on his arms, trying to leverage his legs and Stacker leapt in to help. 

They managed to hold him as Herc straddled his back and with an inhuman cry, ripped Scissure’s head from his body. Raleigh and Chuck both pulled at the same time, removing his arms as well. The body disintegrated into ash moments later. 

Herc ran to his wife’s body and fell to his knees. 

The smell of blood saturated the air.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I did warn you.


	4. Forgot My Sword

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Mongols have conquered China. 
> 
> The Kaiju would love nothing more than to capitalize on this. But they didn't account for traitors in their midst who would love nothing more than to see the monsters fail.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am...ambivalent about this chapter. 
> 
> I like it, but I think it could be better. I may change some things later. 
> 
> Enjoy loverlies. The idiot boys are back next chapter.

Their mother and father died when they were small. None of them could remember much. Jin hummed snatches of a lullaby under his breath. Cheung carried a small bottle of perfume he swore smelled like their mother. 

Hu carried a sword. The only physical reminder of their parents they had left, pressed into his hands by a begrudging uncle. 

They all carried the name Tang Wei, but the clan would not recognize them. 

So they fled to the streets. 

They were not the biggest children living amongst the shadows, nor were they the smartest or fastest. But they had an advantage none of the others did, each other. Time and patience rewarded them as they fought for survival. By their fifteenth birthday, the three boys headed a triad which controlled every pickpocket and grifter in Guangzhou. Within a year they took control of Kowloon and it is there they faced the Kaiju for the first time. 

Tentalus, ancient and cold, loomed over them his eyes an unearthly shade of dark cobalt blue. His right hand, Hannibal Chau, a westerner long turned from his humanity and morals, greeted them like errant children. Together the two monsters controlled every illegal dealing in Guandong province. The boys emerged from their first meeting with the men terrified beyond belief, days later they accepted their first job from the Kaiju. 

Hannibal sought them out every few days, utilizing their network of orphans and vagrants to facilitate deals throughout the empire, even as it crumbled under the Mongols’ onslaught. They grew rich and spread their wealth throughout Kowloon, taking the Wei Tang name back for themselves. The clan leaders are forced to formally recognize them and Tang Wei Lui himself, the uncle who gave Hu his father’s sword, deigns to meet them in Kowloon and acknowledge their control of Hong Kong and Guangzhou’s shadow residents. 

Five years in, they finally found a way to rebel. The Jaegers slip into Hong Kong unnoticed by all but the triplets and their operatives. 

\-----

“Cheung,” Hu snapped at his brother. “Where are you going?” 

He didn’t respond, waving an impatient hand over his shoulder, as his brothers followed his lead. The two Jaegers were edging ahead of them. Jin, like Cheung, kept his eyes on the two Jaegers. They moved quickly, almost too quickly to track properly in the twilight hours. 

Suddenly all three of them froze, their skin prickling with goosebumps. Hu pulled his sword as Jin and Cheung drew their own weapons. They backed slowly into an alley and waited. All three of them settled into defensive stances, ready to fend off whatever lurked in the rapidly darkening streets. They spent a lifetime bribing every martial arts master in Hong Kong and Guangzhou both to teach them proper form. Their alliance with Chau and Tentalus left them prime targets for all sorts as they took control of the cities’ underbellies. 

“Where did they go?” Jin whispered after several long minutes.

Neither of his brothers answered. Their collective intuition served them well in their years on the streets, warning them well before each attack. A dog barked in the distance and the darkness grew heavy in the alleyway. 

Turning suddenly, Cheung whirled and let a throwing star fly into the shadows at their backs. His daggers appeared a split second later and Hu stepped ahead of him to deflect the bloody star’s return trip. The two Jaegers erupted from their hiding places to pin the brothers between them.

The fight was short and brutal. Blades clashed and claws raked skin, but even as Jin went down the Jaegers backed away. Their wounds healed instantly, eyes flashing a dull amber in the faint lantern light. The triplets backed away instantly. None of the rumors surrounding Jaegers indicated they were _anything_ like the Kaiju. Yet, the display of strength and power they just witnessed proved otherwise. 

The woman stepped forward, sheathing her blade, and clenching her jaw. “Who are you?”

Sharing a look, the brothers took a moment to right themselves. Hu kept his blade drawn, knowing it was futile against creatures as fast as these two Jaegers, and stepped between them and his brothers. The man gently pulled the woman back and smiled serenely at the young men before him. 

“My companion asked a question, despite her rudeness I would like to know the answer.” 

“You first.” Hu answered coolly.

The man tilted his head, studying all three men. “My apologies, I am Lo Hin Shen. This is my companion Xichi Po.” 

“You’re Jaegers.” Cheung stood even with Hu, protecting the injured Jin. 

“How do you know what we are?” The woman demanded, pulling her sword. The man, Shen, stopped her. Jin let out a noise of surprise and his brothers glanced behind them to see two more figures emerge from the shadows. Clad in Mongolian armor, the man and woman blocked the brothers’ escape point and stared dispassionately at them. 

“These are the Wei Tang brothers,” The blonde woman spoke. The brothers were surprised to hear no accent, most westerners travelling with the Mongols spoke imperfect Chinese at best. “They control this city.” 

Po straightened and grinned at the brothers, her fangs glinting in the light of a passing carriage lamp. “These three? They are still human. You think Tentalus would turn men of their talents.” 

Before any of them could respond, Hannibal Chau jumped down from the roof above, his obnoxious silks announcing his presence as loudly as his feet hitting the cobblestones. The four Jaegers backed away, settling in for an attack as the gruff man picked invisible dirt from his sleeves. 

“Evening ladies, gentlemen,” The brothers looked to each other. This was not a language they knew, not one of the many which filtered in from the Mongols’ many conquered lands. “It’s a nice night for a stroll.” 

The big man with blond hair flashed his fangs in a mockery of a smile and pulled Hannibal in for a rough hug. “Hannibal! Is good to see you my friend.” 

“Hello,” Chau grunted as the man crushed him. “Good to see you too, Aleksis. Sasha, a little help please?” 

The brothers watched, incredulous, as the woman pinned the big man with an indulgent glare and gestured for him to let go of Chau. The man’s image is forever tarnished in their minds as they glance between the five creatures in the alley. Their lives are suddenly much stranger. 

\-----

“I do not believe you, Chau.” Jin snarls. “We have been careful. How would they know?” 

Chau huffed and stared down at the men he’d employed for over ten years. Humans’ life spans were so blissfully short, but occasionally there were some he refused to die at the hands of his masters. He knew introducing the brothers to the Jaegers was just as likely to get them killed as save their lives one day, but he recognized talent when he saw it and these boys had it in spades. 

“Tentalus is _old_ , one of the ancients. The only reason he can’t see I’ve been double crossing him for a thousand years is because he didn’t make me, I’m not one of his little minions. Of which he has many, and they keep track of all of us. If I wasn’t positive he was actually a Kaiju, I’d think he was a Precursor in his own right. The point is,” Hannibal took a breath. “He knows you’re working with the Jaegers and three Kaiju are hiding on those ships ready to swim across the bay and slit your throats the first chance they get. It’s time to get the hell out of dodge, boys.” 

Cheung tilted his head and mouthed “dodge” at his brother. Hannibal often used words they didn’t understand. Most of which he claimed would make sense one day. His warning today, though, rang of truth and Jin was already pulling his coat on, picking through his knife collection. Sasha and Aleksis frequently travelled from the Mongol capitol to teach the brothers how to properly fight Kaiju for this reason precisely.

“What will you do?” Hu asked, his sword receiving a cursory wipe down as he packed a bag. “Surely Tentalus will know you warned us?” 

“Probably already does. Don’t worry about me, boys. I always come out on top.” 

All three shared a look at the overconfident tone, but chose not to comment on it. Ten years they spent under Hannibal Chau’s tutelage taught them to trust the man implicitly, despite his inhuman nature, but they also learned to let most of his bluster pass them by. 

Shouts echoed in the streets of Guangzhou, the brothers long abandoned their headquarters in Kowloon to shore up their defenses against the invading Mongols. The four men glanced outside to see another Mongolian raiding party rushing the streets. The city surrendered weeks ago and the boy emperor’s body was long cold in the depths. 

“The Jaegers,” Cheung called from the doorway. Jin was already moving to the hall to check their escape route. “Will they come?” 

Hannibal pulled away from the window, his skin sizzling a bit in the bright sunlight. It’d been too long since he fed, distracted by invading armies and double crossing his master. “Sasha and Aleksis are already on their way. Po and Shen are in Kowloon at your hideout. If you can’t get out by land, they’ll get you out by sea.” 

He didn’t turn to face the boys. They’d see the emotion on his face and it wouldn’t do to show he cared about them. He couldn’t afford to give a shit about humans. They died much too quickly. 

“We will see you soon.” Hu called as he followed his brothers out. Hannibal hoped it was true. The Kaiju saw the boys and their little empire as a threat. The Jaegers neatly slid into Hong Kong one too many times for the monsters to ignore and so they looked for the internal threat and found it.  
Footsteps sounded on the stairs and Hannibal subtly let his claws and fangs descend, his skin changing color as armored scales covered his body. He counted three, no four, sets on the stairs and grinned. Perhaps he could even the odds for the boys. 

“Chau,” Raythe growled from the doorway. Atticon and Tailspitter both lingered over his shoulder. A fourth of his brethren lurked in the shadows. “When did you become a traitor?”

Hannibal smiled and let his claws fully extend. “Long before you crawled off your mother’s tit and onto your whore of a sire.” 

Raythe’s smug grin dropped completely and he rushed Hannibal. The other three joined him and Hannibal let the thrill of a fight without weapons, silver or otherwise, wash over him. It’d been at least a century since his skills were tested properly. Fangs and claws shredded clothes as scaled skin bled, dripping blue blood over the floors. 

It took Hannibal a laughably short amount of time to pin Atticon to the floor but the, literally, slimy bastard slipped free as Hannibal was distracted by Tentalus joining the fray. 

The old bastard shifted completely and his tail knocked Hannibal clear through the window and into the brightly lit street below. His skin, scaled and monstrous, immediately began smoking under the sun’s rays. He turned to face his former master and smiled when he felt the presence of Sasha and Aleksis next to him. 

“Two thousand years and you still forget to watch your own back.” Sasha chided, fangs bared and hands sizzling from the sun and the silver blades in her hands. 

“Yeah, well, you try taking on the old bastard and those three.” 

“Gladly.” She shot up the side of the building and inside. Hannibal snarled at her impudence. His sister was _the worst._

Aleksis laughed and hefted his silver tipped trident, a remnant of their early days in Carthage. He gazed down fondly at the man he called brother in all but blood, though even that boundary blurred millennia past. “You know how she is. Go, those boys will need help.” 

Hannibal hated when Aleksis was right. He rolled his eyes, noting the pain in his left eye and set off after the Wei Tang triplets. He glanced back once to see Aleksis pinning Atticon to the ground with his trident as Sasha neatly beheaded him. Raythe’s body lay half out of the window above, smoldering in the sun. Tailspitter and Tentalus were already following him. He ran. 

\-----

“Jin, stop.” Hu breathed out. Cheung shifted in his arms and they slumped against a doorway. Avoiding invading Mongols and Kaiju alike was proving difficult. 

Checking over his shoulder, Jin slid to a halt and cleared the area of any impending threats. “We cannot stay still.” 

“Leave me,” Cheung whispered into Hu’s shoulder. Both his brothers promptly swatted him and he groaned in pain. “We shouldn’t all die.” 

“We won’t.” Hu insisted. “The hideout is near.” 

A full day of running led them back to Kowloon, with the promised help of the Jaegers Xichi Po and Lo Hin Shen at one of their hidden smuggling points. Cheung took a spear to his side fending off a pack of Mongolian soldiers as they filtered into Hong Kong from nearby Guangzhou. Both cities were theirs and though the Song were not paragons of good rulers, the Mongols were invaders and the brothers would not tolerate their presence. 

Cheung wrapped his arm firmly around Hu’s neck, leaving his brother’s sword arm free, and nodded to Jin. “Let’s go.” 

They managed to make it to the entrance before the shadows moved against them. Hannibal Chau rushed Jin through the hidden door, his brothers shouting after them. He quickly reached out and snagged his claws in their clothes and yanked them inside, barring the doors. 

“Run.” He commanded. 

All three men burst into action, fleeing deeper into the building. They stopped only to bandage Cheung’s wounds, give him a dose of opium, and arm themselves with silver. Moments later the building shook as two Kaiju broke through the door. 

“Jin, now!” Hu shouted and his brother threw a black powder and silver packed charge through the darkness behind them. Something screamed and Hannibal swore in several languages, hefting Cheung up and over his shoulder and deeper into the hideout’s maze of tunnels. 

Hu grabbed Jin’s arm as Hannibal rounded a corner and stopped him. “We should give them time to find the Jaegers.” 

Listening to the roars echoing in the halls, Jin adjusted his grip on the packed charges in his hands and raised a smoldering incense stick. “For our family. For our city.” 

He lit the charge and threw it. The resulting explosion revealed two Kaiju stalking the halls. Tentalus they knew, his hulking form the shape of their every nightmare, and another Kaiju. Large webbed protrusions hung from the other Kaiju’s arms and, in full shift, his tail served as the most dangerous weapon on his body. 

“Hu, Jin,” Tentalus greeted in the low light of burning debris. “It is good to see you, boys. Where is dear Cheung?” 

Neither answered him. Hu pulled his sword, suddenly glad for his dead grandfather’s need to show off and his father’s sentimentality. The silver alloy blade glinted in the flickering flames and Tentalus frowned at it. Jin’s own silver weapons appeared. 

“I am disappointed in you both,” Tentalus sneered. “You did such good work for me. I wanted to reward you, bring you into the fold. Now, though, you will forever be slaves instead. Tailspitter, if you would.” 

Too many days and hours running and fighting made Hu and Jin’s final moments short. Tailspitter rushed them and though they landed blow after blow and his skin burned and bled with every wound he had both Hu and Jin were flat on their backs beneath slathering fangs. Blue blood dripped over their faces and burned as it slid down their throats. 

“No!” Both Hu and Jin struggled and managed to crane their necks to see Cheung lighting one of Jin’s charges. Tentalus roared and charged him as Cheung dropped the charge into Jin’s discarded bag which held a half dozen other charges. He wasn’t fast enough. 

The bag detonated in Tentalus’ face as Cheung threw it and slipped past him to tackle Tailspitter. The blast collapsed the tunnel on top of Tentalus. The Kaiju’s head blew clear away from his body and landed between Hu and Jin. They scrambled to their feet only to find themselves thrown back again by Tailspitter just as he bit into Cheung’s neck. The Kaiju lifted Tentalus’ oozing head and dripped blue blood into Cheung’s mouth. 

“You will not die for this. No, you will live and you will serve.” Tailspitter snapped. 

Cheung slipped into unconsciousness and he then attacked a woozy Hu and Jin, biting them as well. His venom and the copious amounts of Tentalus’ blood forced them both into limbo. The Kaiju circled them, waiting for the change to take place, for the brothers to succumb to the will of the Precursors through his dead master’s fading connection. 

Debris rustled as he paced and Tailspitter turned to find Hannibal Chau and four Jaegers climbing over Tentalus’ body. He roared and spat acid their way, but it was useless. They swarmed him and, with quick slices, Tailspitter fell dead and dismembered to the ruined floor. 

Hannibal leaned over the boys, the first humans in nearly two millennia he gave a shit about and tracked the stalled changes in their bodies. He reached out and laid a hand on each of their heads, whispering for them to live, to accept the change. 

“Hannibal,” Sasha whispered. He turned to snarl at her and then quickly bit into both of his wrists. Sasha nodded once and disappeared towards the entrance. 

Aleksis helped him hold the boys still as he let his blood slide down their throats, commanding them to live and fight. Po and Shen disappeared with Sasha and all three returned with unconscious Mongols and other soldiers. Three of them died under Hannibal’s fangs as he kept his own blood flowing into the brothers. 

\-----

Cheung stared out over the harbor as British naval ships filtered in under the rising sun. Hu and Jin bickered behind him about their latest cargo of weapons and whether they should contact Sasha and Aleksis in Alaska to facilitate shipping with the Americans instead of the Europeans. 

Six hundred years since they died and nothing had really changed. Armies and navies alike still vied for control of their territory, the Kaiju still lurked in the shadows. They lurked in the shadows too, fighting a silent war. 

“Boys,” Hannibal called up from the ground. “I’ve got some people I want you to meet.” 

They leaned over to find a tall man staring up at them. Hannibal grinned, fangs on display, and gestured at the man and his entourage. “Come on down.” 

Jin and Cheung leapt over the edge and landed before the group. Some of the Jaegers, for that was definitely who and what they were, flinched. Hands reached for weapons at the blatant display of the brothers’ own armaments and drew them when Hu suddenly landed in a crouch from his own leap off the roof. 

“Forgot my sword.” 

Hannibal sighed and scrubbed a hand over his face.


	5. Chapter Five: He that…drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Becket sibling's lives were short and full of death. 
> 
> But they were never alone. 
> 
> They had each other.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I planned for a snarkier, fluffier(?) chapter to be here. But, as it happens, I felt that chapter would suffer the effects of too much exposition if I did not pause to give a little context. 
> 
> I apologize for any suffering induced by the contents of this chapter. 
> 
>  
> 
> That's a lie. I'm not sorry. 
> 
> Enjoy the angst my lovelies.

Jazmine’s earliest memory was of loss. Her father kissed her goodbye one morning, bundled up his supplies, and never returned. She was four. The winter of 1747 went down as one of the worst in the New World. Many hunters never returned home. 

Losing Richard Becket was very nearly a fatal blow to the rest of his family. His mother, always fond of her grandchildren, even if they were half-French, sent lavish gifts to her daughter-in-law from every fine store in London. Dominique La Pierre-Becket’s own inheritance kept them fed and housed, but the Baroness Becket’s gifts kept the three Becket children in school and seen to by doctors. 

Yancy and Raleigh doted on their little sister, even before their father died. But afterwards, they became half-brothers, half-parents to her. As Dominique’s health slowly declined, it was the boys who picked up odd jobs for the Ursuline Sisters and walked Jazmine to school every day. It was the boys, only a few years older than herself, who taught her to hunt, mend clothing, and cook. 

When she was nine, consumption finally took Dominique. The Ursuline Sisters, already fond of the Becket children had long since moved the whole family into the Abbey and helped Dominique sell everything that wouldn’t go to the children. She died warm and well cared for, amongst friends.

Jazmine Becket was suddenly an orphan, well acquainted with loss and fierce longing for things she knew to miss. But she was never alone. She had her brothers. She had the nuns and the other orphans. 

She missed her father and his warmth. She missed her mother and the love she gave her children. But Yancy and Raleigh were everything to her. Losing their parents meant little in comparison to _having_ her brothers still with her. 

\-----

_**1759-Quebec** _

The siege stuttered its way into existence. Yet another symptom of the eternal Anglo-Frankish rivalry which decimated far flung corners of the world, old and new. It started with the distant threat of a British fleet and armies. The city fortified itself, prepared for war, and waited. 

Jazmine stood on the ramparts, hidden by the clothes stolen from her brothers, and armed with a musket as the fire ships drifted into the British fleet. The heat of late summer beat down on her face and she itched to remove her hat. Only Yancy’s stern glare at her side stopped her.

Lieutenant-General Montcalm himself stood only a few feet away, cursing his British counterpart. The siege was not going well. Though well outnumbered, the British were proving to be far superior in quality to the soldiers under Montcalm’s command. Two months of constant bombardment ensured their inevitable defeat. 

“Look,” Raleigh whispered. “There.” 

Following his outstretched hand, Jazmine sighted down the barrel of her rifle. A pair of men, dressed in British livery, were sneaking their way along the half-destroyed city walls. Unlike most, they were looking for a way _in_ rather than out. 

Yancy and Raleigh both joined her in following the men’s progress, their readiness alerting those around them. No one spoke as first one, then two more shots rang in quick succession. One of the men crumpled. The other turned cold eyes up and Jazmine felt her blood freeze despite the heat. 

Years spent in the care of the nuns at the Ursuline Abbey and in friendship with Ilisapie and Zeke taught her there were things more than human walking the earth. Whatever this creature was, it sniffed the air and grinned before ducking into the walls as her brothers reloaded. 

She shuddered against the threat of death and jumped when Raleigh laid a hand on her shoulder. He frowned at her. “You alright, Jay?” 

“Fine.” She swallowed against the lump in her throat. “I’m fine.” 

“You aren’t, but there’s a war on, so I’ll let it pass.” 

Jazmine smiled, despite herself, and let her brothers lead her back to the Abbey. It’d long since been commandeered for a hospital and the nuns let them pass through the side door with little fuss. Ilisapie, like Jazmine, dressed herself as a man and set to work when the siege began. Her tireless efforts kept many a soldier and civilian alive these last few months. As soon as she caught sight of the siblings, she pulled them all to help her, and Zeke, with treating the wounded. Jazmine fell asleep on her thin cot hours later. 

Dawn broke and with it came Yancy hovering over her, panicking. 

“Jaz, you need to get up.” 

“Yance? What’s wrong?” 

Artillery and musket fire echoed and he thrust her weapons toward her. “You’ll stay here. If they breach the city you can hide with the Sisters.” 

Raleigh barged in as Jazmine geared up to remind her brother which of them was the best fighter. “We’ve been called up. It doesn’t look good. Montcalm isn’t waiting to attack.” 

“They’ll overrun us,” Jazmine whispered in fear. 

“They’ll try.” Yancy frowned. He looked between his siblings and pulled his sister in for a hug. “Please, I’m begging you. Stay here. Zeke and Ilisapie can keep you safe. They know the quickest ways out of the city if things go bad and how to find us.” 

Jazmine sighed into his chest and wrapped her arms around him. “I promise.” 

Yancy pulled away and pressed a kiss to her forehead. “We’ll make it through this.”

He sounded so sincere she almost believed him. Raleigh stayed quiet, but graced her with a small smile. She pulled ammunition and a set of knives from her trunk and forced her brothers to take them. One of the sisters appeared at the door, solemn and close to tears. 

_“Mes fils, il est temps d'aller.”_

Yancy nodded and, with one last look over his shoulder, he left. Raleigh lingered, his eyes a little glazed over. Jazmine realized he was _feeling_ something. Something all three siblings shared, the episodes flared when they were particularly stressed. The faint prickle of fear touched her mind and she frowned. Just as she made to grab his shoulder, Raleigh snapped out of it and pulled Jazmine in close. 

_“Je t'aime, petite fleur.”_

_“Je t’aime,”_ Jazmine whispered into his chest. “What is it?” 

“Yancy is scared.” 

“You’ll keep him safe.” 

“What about you?” 

Zeke appeared in the door, obviously the nuns sent in reinforcements. Outside the Abbey, the sound of the city’s troops echoed in the rubble strewn streets. Jazmine suddenly felt calm amidst all the chaos. It was hard to be scared with Zeke around. 

“I’ll be fine.” 

Raleigh hugged her tightly again and let Zeke lead him away. Jazmine pulled on one of the few dresses she had left and watched her brothers join the militia as they headed for battle from her window. Yancy was already pushing forward towards the oncoming battle, his shoulders tense and rifle grasped tightly in his hands. 

Jazmine felt a tug and took her eyes off her oldest brother to find Raleigh staring up at her. He waved, unconditional affection pouring out to her. She smiled down at him. Even as they walked towards their deaths, as they left her to face hers, they were never alone. 

\-----

“Jazmine, I need more clean bandages!” Ilisapie shouted over the sounds of dying men. Jazmine let go of General Montcalm, dying below her, and scrambled for the hall. The sisters bustled around, hastily wrapping wounds and swaddling the dead to make room for those who still had a chance. 

The mass of bandages, created from every spare bit of clean cloth in the Abbey, greeted her in the darkened kitchen and she filled a basket. Turning to go, Jazmine caught movement. A man, no, something else, dressed in red slid through the heavily barred windows as if the barriers meant nothing to him. She pressed against the wall as he fell to the floor, bones popping back into place. He ripped the barricade away from the door and three more men entered. 

“Good work, Trespasser,” The largest man whispered. Jazmine suppressed a gasp as she recognized his face from the day before. “This place is ripe for the picking now the French are retreating.” 

“Yamarashi,” Another spoke. Jazmine slid back towards the hall. If she could close the door, maybe they could evacuate the school before these men realized. “I smell Jaegers.” 

The big man’s nostrils flared and Jazmine froze. She knew what a predator scenting its prey looked like. “You’re right, Karloff. I wonder who’s here. Perhaps the Russians.” 

“No,” The last man spoke. “It’s the same pair that killed Insurrector. I thought they died with him. Perhaps the girl in the hall can tell us.” 

Yamarashi, the largest of the group, whipped his head towards the hall and grinned. “Perhaps she can, Kaiceph. I hear your heartbeat, girl.” 

Sickly blue eyes followed Jazmine’s shadow down the hall as she ran for the door. She managed to slam the heavy oak door and jam them closed before screaming for everyone still in the cloisters to run. Zeke appeared out of nowhere, shoving her aside and pulling an impossibly heavy pew into place. He stacked another on top and wedged a third into place as mocking laughter filtered through the doors. 

“Is that you Amorak?” Zeke froze at the sound of the man’s voice. Jazmine looked around, making sure the sisters were running to the attic where the children were hidden. At the sight of the first child running for the side door, she flew to action. Every man capable of holding his rifle or pistol was lined up to face the doors. The dead were shoved into hasty barriers on their beds. 

“Kaiceph.” 

Jazmine’s frantic movements stuttered to a halt at the hatred in her friend’s voice. Ezekiel Amorak was one of the gentlest, most caring men she’d ever met. At one time she thought he might ask for her hand in marriage. Despite what she told her brothers on the subject, if it was Zeke who asked, she would accept in a heartbeat. She still would. To hear him speak with such loathing frightened her more than anything. 

As fear shot through her, she _felt_ her brothers both stumble under the weight of it. She felt them both turn and run, blindly coming to rescue her, and knew they would be too late. She would die here, _alone._

Ilisapie pulled her out of the way as the door flew open and the barricade was shattered. Zeke swiftly dodged a barrage of bullets as the wounded soldiers opened fire on their attackers. A rifle found its way into her hands and Jazmine fired shot after shot, injured men passing her freshly reloaded muskets in quick succession. The four creatures kept coming. Ilisapie and Zeke waded into the musket fire, dodging bullets and mean swipes of clawed hands as they worked to bring the creatures down. 

Jazmine fired her last bullet and scrambled to fix her bayonet as Yamarashi advanced on her. She managed one, deadly, swing which left him gushing blue blood from his scaly throat. He merely laughed and she fell to the ground under his claws. 

\-----

Raleigh felt the lingering fear from his sister as he and Yancy ran towards the Abbey. They’d already passed a group of nuns as they led their terrified students to safety. One of them, Sister Agnes, now trailed behind them, filling them in on what she saw during her flight. 

Yancy rounded a corner ahead of him and slammed to a halt. Raleigh barely avoided him and managed to catch Sister Agnes as well before she tumbled to the ground. The young nun gasped at the sight before her. 

A dozen soldiers, those who’d escorted General Montcalm it appeared, were haphazardly thrown about the small square. Several of the nuns were dead as well. A few of the students, their small forms contorted unnaturally, lay at the doors. There was blood everywhere, but none under the bodies. They were all pale and their skin stretched tight over their faces. 

_“Sainte mère, sauve-nous.”_ Agnes gasped. Raleigh privately thought not even the sacred virgin could save anyone in the city, let alone them. Not from whatever did _this._

A man appeared at the gaping doors to the Abbey, dragging bodies behind him. Yancy and Raleigh both reacted instantly, hefting their muskets at the sight of the red uniform coat. The brothers recognized Zeke and Ilisapie first. The cousins were trussed and struggling against the man’s hold on their legs. A second man followed, a woman in his arms. Raleigh felt Yancy’s anger wash through him a split second before he too recognized his sister’s prone form.

“Let her go.” Yancy’s cold fury echoed across the strangely silent square. Raleigh kept his musket and his eyes trained on the smaller of the two men. If he could distract the smaller man, Ilisapie or Zeke could get free. Both were vicious fighters, capable of taking on the man dragging them. 

“I don’t think I will.” The larger of the two men spat viciously. “This girl has caused me quite a few problems. My masters charged me with culling this city, seeking new _recruits._ She’ll make a fine addition to our ranks.” 

Yancy fired as Jazmine suddenly rolled out of the man’s arms. Raleigh fired a split second later, the round clipping the smaller man in the neck. He went down heavily, Ilisapie and Zeke both rolling to free themselves and pin him down. Reloading, Raleigh switched his focus to the bigger man and he nearly screamed. 

Where a man once stood, there was now a monster. Jazmine scrambled away from it and he snarled as the creature caught her by the hair and hauled her back in. The creature sank its teeth into Jazmine’s neck. A slowly bleeding slice across its neck seemed to be Jazmine’s handiwork, but it began disappearing as he levelled his musket once more. 

Jazmine’s pain and Yancy’s fear nearly crippled him. He shoved their emotions aside and, as Yancy let out a roar and charged, he fired. This time his aim was true. The creature’s head snapped back, teeth ripping away from Jazmine’s throat, and Raleigh pulled his pistol and knife to join his brother. 

They never stood a chance. The creature caught the musket ball between his teeth and spat it at the brothers as they rushed in. Jazmine managed to pull a knife of her own and drove it deep between the armored scales running down the creature’s side as she fell to the ground, blood blossoming underneath her. 

Yancy went down first, the creature catching first his pistol and then his blade with ease and biting deeply into his neck. Raleigh fired at the monster, forcing him off his brother and found himself captured underneath the slathering jaws himself. 

The world went dark for a brief moment as he felt something burning its way through his veins. White hot pain rolled across his skin, and he realized he could smell the blood in the air. Smell his sister’s blood as it puddled beneath her. The monster dropped him and he fell into the growing pool. 

Distantly, he felt his mouth open, felt his tongue lap up the liquid. His body wasn’t his own. But his mind was another matter. Yancy’s blood joined the mix as all three of them bled onto the cobblestones. Whatever connection they shared before now was blown open by the burning venom pumping through their veins. The faint traces of the monster’s blood, mixed with their own, carried enough memory to tell them their fate. They were changing.

“Drink.” Jazmine commanded, her voice strong despite her weakening state. “I won’t survive what he’s done.” 

“No.” Yancy begged. “I won’t lose you. You have to stay with us.” 

Raleigh was already shifting, rolling on the ground as someone above him fought viciously. He lay next to his sister, her wrist drawn up in his hands and gazed into her eyes. Yancy moved to lay on her other side. She stared straight up into the night sky, a serene look on her face. Raleigh brought her wrist up, using the last of his strength as the pain wracked his body, and bit down. Yancy sobbed and, with Jazmine’s eyes on him, did the same. 

“You won’t lose me.” Jazmine whispered. “I’ll always be with you. You’ll never be alone.” 

Closing his eyes, Raleigh let his sister save his life with her own. He let her blood run down his throat and her memories flood his mind. He felt her die. Felt her life end and a piece of her soul attach to his own. The burning stopped. He opened his eyes to see the moon fully risen, where before it was just creeping over the rooftops. He didn’t know how long he’d lain there, letting the change take him. 

The sound of a woman screaming made him leap to his feet. Yancy was already huddled over Jazmine, smoothing her bloodied hair and crossing her wrists over her chest. Raleigh looked around, searching for the source of the scream. 

The smaller of the two creatures was dead, eviscerated in the square. The other one was nowhere to be seen, nor were Ilisapie and Zeke. Raleigh focused on the sound of fighting inside the Abbey and dragged his brother away from Jazmine’s body. 

Yancy fought him until they heard the woman inside scream again. Both men instantly leapt to action, running into the Abbey until they reached the broken doors of the cloisters. They rounded a corner to find Zeke collapsed against a wall, unconscious. 

As Raleigh bent to check his friend, Ilisapie flew through a door and into the opposite wall. She snarled and made to stand, but stumbled on an obviously broken leg. Yancy ran to her side, ready to hoist her up. The harsh, golden glare she levelled on both brothers stopped him cold. 

“He has Agnes. Go!” They hesitated a moment until she threw a broken piece of door at them. “Go! Before he kills her!” 

Ilisapie pointed at the door she flew through and they ran. Turning the hallway corner, they found Agnes cowering in the vestments room. The large creature turned sharply at the sound of their footsteps and Raleigh was surprised to feel his new fangs grow longer and sharper as he snarled at it. Claws erupted from his fingers and he felt his skin ripple and change. 

“Let her go.” 

This time it was Raleigh’s cold voice that stopped the creature. Yancy stood silently at his side, their shared anger, their thirst for vengeance, palpable between them. The creature laughed. 

“Two newborns dare to challenge me?” Sister Agnes crept along the wall, one of the altar server’s red belts in her hands. “You tried once already and failed. I am surprised you survived the transition. Most do not. Where is your delightful sister? Did she live as well?” 

“No.” Raleigh answered, keeping the monster’s attention on him. Agnes slipped underneath the creature’s claws and ran. She tossed the belt at the brothers as she went. Yancy caught it and wrapped one end loosely round his fist. 

“Shame. She was a strong one. But you must choose to accept the gift, if you wish to survive. A pity she did not. You though. Hmm, two men such as yourselves might do just as nicely.” 

Raleigh felt himself move in sync with his brother before his mind even registered the urge. They surprised the creature and pinned him to the ground. The belt wrapped around his still healing neck and both brothers pulled viciously against the braided rope. It slid into his wound and caught against the bones of his neck. 

Blue blood spilled fresh over the red cord as it dug in. They each placed their full weight on the monster’s arms, letting it tangle its legs in the fallen clothing as it tried to fight them off. Vengeance gave them strength and they pulled, harder and harder, against the rope. Strands snapped and frayed but the belt didn’t break, cutting deeply. They held fast and pinned the monster down until the white robes in the room were all sprayed with blue. 

Finally, there came a sickening crack as the creature’s spine snapped and tore. A second later, its head dislocated and rolled away. Raleigh collapsed backwards with the unexpected release and found a pair of heavy silver candlesticks beneath him. 

His hands closed over the metal and he hissed as it burned him. The creature’s body twitched heavily and Raleigh drove one of the candlesticks through its heart. The next one pinned the still snarling head to the floor and the silver spat and sizzled as the creature melted around it.

Yancy stood shakily and reached for his brother. “You alright?”

“No.” 

They slowly made their way back towards the courtyard. Ilisapie and Zeke were already there, wrapping Jazmine in a pristine white sheet. Raleigh leaned heavily into his brother as the smell of blood assaulted his senses. The burning sensation, soothed by Jazmine’s blood, by her sacrifice, returned. He could feel his brother’s every fleeting emotion, could hear his thoughts, the longer they stood watching. 

Ilisapie stood as Zeke pressed a kiss to Jazmine’s head and turned to the brothers. Her normally stoic face was marred by scratches and bone-deep sadness. Raleigh swore he could see white streaking her dark hair, but couldn’t tell in the moonlight. She regarded them carefully until Yancy sagged as the shock left him and reality swept in. 

Raleigh barely caught him, even with Ilisapie’s help. They lowered him to his knees and he immediately reached for Jazmine’s wrapped body, pulling it close. Zeke’s normally vibrant dark skin turned sallow in the moonlight and he kept his eyes on the body. Raleigh felt the man breaking the longer he stared. 

“I’m sorry.” Ilisapie finally whispered in Raleigh’s ear. “If we knew they were here we would have taken her out.” 

“What,” Raleigh barely recognized his own voice. “What are they? What are _we?”_

She sighed. “They are every monster your mother warned you against as a child, every creature under your bed, or bump in the night. We are their failures. Those who survived, but did not join them. We are those who fight them. We, and now you, are hunters.”

“Hunters.” Raleigh whispered as his brother continued to sob. 

“Yes.” He could feel the weight of Ilisapie’s stare. “We are Jaegers.” 

Deep in his soul, he felt his sister stir. Yancy twitched as he felt her rise in their minds. They were together. Always together. Never alone.


End file.
